When the Heartache Ends
by KatrinaAlene
Summary: This is a sequal to "Not Our Last Embrace" This story follows the Advent Story line as well as Shazz and Cloud and their fight to live a life in peace with each other. They are also helped by a very special gaurdian angel. Please enjoy!
1. Be Nice

"sigh of relief* yay frist chapter is done!!! I am so honored to invite you all back to the sequal!! I hope to make this one just as good as the last. I know its a lot to expect but i'm going to push myself so that it comes true. I also plan on continuing listing th music that has inspired me to write each chapter and for this one it was "You're so Real" by matchbox 20...i just couldn't help but think about shazz's and reno's relationship when i heard it.

Anywho...i hope you enjoy this story! Love ya dears!!

* * *

"Uh oh, someone has been a naughty girl!"

Shazz quickly wiped the tears from her eyes that her conversation with Cloud had left her. She nervously began to scan the wooded area because the voice sounded too familiar. She also felt a sharp pain in her stomach. All the while she had been thinking she made a smart move by taking Cloud away from the house, but she must have underestimated the suits in the house.

The young woman slowly moved towards the center of the enclosure as her eyes continued to search the tree tops. Suddenly she heard a thud behind her as if something had fallen from the sky. Shazz quickly turned around and in the midst of her 180; she tripped over her own feet and landed hard on the ground.

"Ow ow ow" Shazz whined as she rubbed her backside

"Nice job Shazz. As graceful as ever I see."

Shazz opened her eyes and glared up at the man standing above her. He was wearing an unkempt black suit, had brilliant red hair that was tied back in the ponytail, blue eyes sparkling with mischief, and a devilish smile that spread across his lips. "Dammit Reno! You're like a freaking cat!"

"Meow" Was the Turk's reply that was followed by him rolling his tongue to imitate a purr.

Shazz picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off her dress. "How long have you been listening?" She asked clearly not amused.

Reno to a second think about his answer. "Uhhhh…I would say…only from the time he came here to the time he left."

The girl rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. Her lips pouted as she stared at the ground. "You're not going to tell Rufus are you?"

"Why Shazz?" Reno's blue eyes became filled with false anguish as he tried to lay a guilt trip upon the poor girl. "I'm hurt that you would think me so evil as to go and get you in trouble."

"No, you're just evil enough to use this as blackmail so what do you want?"

Reno couldn't help but laugh. Shazz always had his number. "Well since you caught me, I'll cut to the chase. Since you're so close to our buddy Cloud, perhaps you can use some of your pull to get the stubborn guy on our side."

Shazz shook her head and her expression was dripping with sarcasm. "Please Reno, I'm not even on your side and besides, if a master of bullshit such as yourself can't even convince him, I don't have a prayer."

The Turk's eyebrows furrowed and his teeth began to grind. "If you are so brave to run your pretty little mouth off to me, then you should have no problem using it to defend yourself to Rufus."

The look on Shazz's face almost made Reno regret what he had said. There was no denying the pain that was etched in her brown eyes. "You know what, do whatever you want. If you feel that you have to tell Rufus then I'll deal with the consequences. I mean, what more could he possibly do to me." Shazz turned away from him and walked out of the pine alcove. The sun seemed to swallow her up as she left the safety of the branches.

Reno scratched the back of his head and let out a frustrated sigh. He plopped down on the same boulder that was leaning against a tree. "Tseng, what am I supposed to do with her?" His mind started to drift back to the day he, Tseng, and Elena were sent to investigate Sephiroth's wake.

The dark and misty crater that was left behind made it hard for Reno to make a safe landing. Diligently he hovered above the ground so that Tseng and Elena could repel themselves down. Before Tseng left he had gone over to Reno and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Reno, if anything should happen to me, I want you to go and get Shazz. Do you remember where she is?"

"Of course, I've flown you there plenty of times." He said as he looked at his superior curiously. The way Tseng acting was odd. Usually matters such as this weren't of concern before a mission, but he was adamant about this one.

"I need you take care of her until either Cloud or myself are able to come for her. Promise me you'll do this."

"No problem. I got it."

Tseng nodded his head and went back to continue on with the mission.

As Reno was surveying the area, he started receiving panicked calls from Elena. Tseng must have had a sixth sense for danger because Reno could hear gun fire over the radio. He immediately lowered the helicopter into the void but the polluted fog made impossible for him to see a damn thing.

"Reno! Go! Get out of here!" came Tseng's voice over the radio. "You must get…" That was last thing Reno heard before static took over the air waves.

"Tseng! Tseng can you here me!" There was no answer. Reno reluctantly steered the helicopter out of the crater and radioed the president to report the current situation.

"Understood" said Rufus on the other line "Reno return to the lodge ASAP."

"No can do sir. I have to make a detour to pick up an old acquaintance."

"Is it Miss. Heart?"

Reno was taken aback by the president's response. "Sir, how did you…"

"I've always known that she was alive and that she was being cared for by Tseng. I just never knew where she was."

"Yeah but, if you wanted to you could have…"

"Reno when you retrieve the girl, bring her here. I will make all the necessary arrangements." The transmission ended after that statement.

When Reno had reached the hidden cabin, Shazz was as welcoming as ever. She was always excited for any human contact. Reno explained the situation to her and she immediately packed her things and left with him. On the ride back she was very compliant and also volunteered to help out in anyway she could. She said she just wanted to make sure Tseng came back safely.

It wasn't until they arrived back at the lodge that things started to change. Reno opened the front door for her and he started to walk off. "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you around the place so you won't get lost." Reno stopped and noticed that he wasn't be followed.

He turned around and found Shazz frozen in the doorway. Her body was trembling and her eyes were fixated on something in the distance. Reno followed the direction of her gaze to the far side of the room where Rude was standing by the side of the President.

Shazz was acting like she has just seen a ghost, and who could blame her. Rufus was supposed to be dead and the white sheet he used to cover himself with wasn't helping his situation at all.

Rufus moved his chair across the room and stopped at a respectable distance in front of the frightened girl. "Shazz, when Reno informed me that you would be staying with us, I made sure to have a room prepared for you." Rufus's tone was hesitant but gentle when he spoke to her. It surprised Reno. He had never heard the president use that tone with anyone. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. My home is yours."

The silence in the room was deafening. Shazz was still shaking and she tried her best to not let her fear show. "If you're expecting a thank you from me, you can forget it!" Her words cut through the quiet like razor blades.

Rude and Reno were both stunned at the harsh way Shazz spoke to their superior. "Hey" Reno shouted "You can't speak to the president…"

Rufus held up a hand to silence him. "It is alright Reno. Why don't you go get the rest of Shazz's belongings and Rude, would you show Miss. Heart to her room?"

As soon as Shazz was completely moved into her new room, she locked herself in. Rufus must have anticipated that this would happen because he made sure her room was equipped with its own bathroom. To make matters worse, she was refusing to eat or drink.

Reno came down the stairs and slammed a tray of food on the kitchen counter.

"She's still not eating?" asked Rufus as he rolled in from the other room.

"No disrespect sir, but why can't we just call Cloud and have him take her. It's obvious she hates it here."

Rufus was sitting in the door way with a calm demeanor. "I can't have her go with Cloud just yet. From what I've heard, the boy is incapable of taking care of himself let alone another person. No, it's best that she stay here."

__

"Yeah right"

Reno thought to himself _"At the rate things are going now, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning her back."_

"Reno" The red head snapped out of his sulking and turned to face Rufus "why don't you try bringing her food again, and this time, be nice."

"Whatever you say." Reno trudged back up the stairs and knocked on her door. As usually he heard no response out of Shazz. He sighed and mentally prepared himself to be _nice._ "Shazz, I know you don't like it here, but I promised Tseng I would take care of you so you have nothing to worry about. I know he would be upset if anything were to happen to you and right now your path of self destruction isn't helping. Now, just open the door and have something to eat…please."

He heard the chain on her door being unlatched and the dead bolt being unlocked. The door opened and the look on her face was not very inviting. "If you really wanted to help me, you wouldn't have brought me here. Away from Rufus is the best place for me." she said coldly.

"Look Shazz, I don't know what is going on between you and Rufus and honestly, I would rather it stay none of my business. The bottom line is that my job is to protect you so that when Tseng returns, he finds you alive and that means I won't get my ass kicked. So just do us both a solid and eat your food and deal with it!" He shoved the tray into her hands and turned back to stomp back down the stairs. _"That was nice wasn't it? She shouldn't be that upset. I did say please."_

Shazz did stop locking herself up in her room, but her attitude didn't change much. She refused to be in the same room with Rufus alone and every moment spent with Reno was an argument in the making. The only person she got along with was Rude and that was because they had a silent understanding of one another. He didn't bother her if she didn't bother him.

Reno sat on the rock mulling over these past events, trying to figure out what had happened to Shazz that caused her to build up all these walls. The bitterness between Shazz and Rufus was always the elephant in the room that no one was allowed to talk about.

Suddenly Reno leapt up off the rock as if something had bit him. He had it figured out and all he need was for Shazz to validate it.

"Shazz!" He yelled as he raced out of the thicket. The sunlight came fast and he was blinded for a moment but he kept running. He was squinting as he eyes slowly began to adjust to the light. "Shazz!" he called out over and over until he spotted her standing on the little steel bridge that overlooked the waterfalls.

The young woman heard her name being called but she was reluctant to acknowledge the person calling it. Reno ran up to her and was panting heavily and as much as she didn't want to talk to him, it was heard to ignore the heavy breathing. "What the hell do you want now?!"

"I just…wanted to…ask you…a question?" He said between breaths

Shazz tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, out with it!"

"What you told Cloud about what happened between you and Rufus, is that true?"

Shazz was surprised at first, but that soon melted into suspicion. "What does it matter to you?"

Reno took a moment to contemplate his answer. Why did it matter to him? As far as he was concerned Shazz had been nothing but a burden to him since she had arrived. He had never really forgiven her for pulling out a wad of his hair and she sure hadn't forgiven him for pumping her with a near lethal dose of morphine.

It had been a constant rivalry between them and it seemed that Shazz was always winning. Reno was always the smartass that left people speechless with his off the wall comments. It was different with Shazz, not only did she take his bullshit; she would dish it out ten times as worse. He hated it, and he hated her. It wasn't out of bitterness or anything. He just couldn't wrap his head around her. It was so frustrating how much of a wall she had built up and he never understood why.

"I just want an explanation that's all," Reno said to a girl that wasn't even looking at him. "I've tried, for Tseng's sake, to make sure you are safe and all you ever give me is attitude. I don't understand why the site of the president gets you so angry and if what you told Cloud is true, why must you take this out on me?"

Shazz finally looked up at him and her eyes studied him intently. Shazz wasn't sure if the hot headed Turk was being serious, because in all honesty, she didn't have reference to go by. She had never seen Reno serious.

The young woman sighed as she rested her elbows on the banister of the bridge. She looked out over the rocky cliffs and a soft cool breeze made strands of her hair take flight. She sighed deeply as she took the chance to open up to him. "What if it was true Reno? What would you do? Do you actually think that the truth would change anything between us?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I know I'm not the most sensitive guy in the world but I'm not without feelings. Try me?" Reno folded his arms behind his head and leaned up against the railing next to Shazz.

This time Shazz couldn't help but smile a little. That was probably the most profound thing that Reno has ever said. That made it easier for her take Reno seriously. "Yes, everything I told Cloud about Rufus is true and if it wasn't for Tseng, who knows what would have happened to me. I'm trying to move on but when ever I look at Rufus my stomach gets sick and all I can see is that cold hard stare he gave me that night."

Reno lowered his arms to his side and his eyes became downcast. Yet again Shazz left him speechless, but not in the way he was used to. What could he say to the person who was violated by the man he took orders from? To him, Shazz had every right to hate him. "Shazz…I…I'm sorry."

This made Shazz raise and eyebrow as a crooked smile danced on her lips. "You're sorry? Huh…I never thought I would here such words being uttered by you."

"I wouldn't buy into the apology that much," said Reno has her returned the same crooked smile "I still hate you, but just a little less now."

Shazz couldn't help but laugh a little. "Gee thanks, I'm glad to see that things won't change that much between us. I can't tell you how glad I am that this didn't turn into some sappy after school special. I'm tired or crying today."

Reno's arms folded behind his head again and his eyes drifted up towards the blue sky. "Nope, I don't foresee anything changing between us. You will always be the biggest pain in my ass and that honor will remain yours forever."

A the corners of Shazz's mouth curled up menacingly as her browns made their way over to his piercing blues. "As much as I appreciate the title, I can't take all the credit. I highly doubt that I'm the only cause of that pain in your ass." She winked at him and a faint pinky hue came and went out the Turk's cheeks.

"Oh, that was a low blow there sugar and for that, I'm going to tell Rufus on you." Reno took off running towards the lodge without a moment's hesitation.

"NO!! DAMMIT RENO!!" yelled the frustrated brunette as he tore off after him. It would be hard for Shazz to loose the red head since she could hear his mocking laughter from a mile away.


	2. No One Will be Spared

sorry for the wait my loves. I was just busy with work and i know that's not excuse for my tardiness. But yay for Chapter 2 right!! ^_^ So the song i listened to as a wrote this was "Dead Star" by Muse. god i love that band!

* * *

Back at the Healin Lodge, Rufus started to hear strange noises coming from outside. "Rude, will you see what's going on."

The tall, dark and handsome Turk sauntered over to the huge bay window and noticed the bright red hair that was coming towards the lodge and there was also a very angry brunette that was chasing after him.

Rude watched as Shazz made one last desperate lunge at Reno and she managed to wrap her arms around his legs and brought him crashing to the ground. She quickly scrambled up his legs and pinned him on his back by straddling his abdomen. Her hands when right for his throat but were quickly stopped short of their goals when Reno grabbed her wrists.

"Well Sir, it would appear that Reno and Shazz are fighting…again." Rude stated coolly

Rufus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Could you go out there and stop them before someone gets hurt."

Rude walked sown the creaky staircase that lead to the backdoor. He turned the brass knob and opened the door to find Shazz desperately trying to choke his partner. Reno on the other hand was laughing historically. "You know Shazz; I don't think Cloud would be too happy if he saw you on top of me like this."

Shazz let out a low growl. "You little perv! I should rip out your tongue so I'll never have to hear your stupid voice again!"

"I'd like to see you try! Since I have a hold of your hands, I'm curious as to what else you will do to accomplish this?"

She let out a frustrated scream as she made another attempt to claw his face off, but this time, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and lift her off of Reno.

"Thanks buddy." The feisty red head popped right to his feet and started to dust himself off. "For a moment there I thought she was really going to gouge my eyes out."

Rude, looking suave in is finely pressed dark suit, held Shazz under his arm as if she were a piece of luggage. Reno saw a window of opportunity and he couldn't waste the chance to harass a restrained Shazz. He walked up to her and playfully ruffled her hair and stared at her with a big dumb grin on his face. "You know what I think buddy? I think that if you would have given us a little more time, Shazz would have started to enjoy the position she was in."

Shazz tried to grab at him but he jumped out of the way just in time. The hold on her waist tighten and she became extremely irritated at the fact that Rude wouldn't let her go. "Rude!" She said through clenched teeth "Normally I try not to get involved with people's domestic situations, but maybe you could try a little harder to keep your woman in line!!!"

Both men reacted to her comment with a startled grunt. Rude was the type to let such comments slide off his shoulder, but Reno was another story. "Oh you've crossed a line now Shazz. I hope you are prepared for the consequences."

Shazz was about to fight back when she was quieted by a harsh tone of voice. "Knock it off! The both of you! Why is it so hard for the two of you to…"A thunderous crass interrupted Rude's lecture and he looked at Reno curiously. "What the hell was that?"

Shazz snickered "Maybe Rufus fell out of his chair?" The two men gave her a look to let her know that they thought the comment was in bad taste. "What? It was only a suggestion."

"Something doesn't feel right to me Rude" said Reno as a chill crawled up his spine

"I'd have to agree with you. Lets go." Rude flung the door open and started to head up the stairs.

"Wait!" the young Turk shouted "What about the girl?"

Rude looked down and realized that he was stilling carrying Shazz. "What should we do with her?"

Reno thought for a moment "Here, give her to me." The giant of a man set her down and Reno took her by the hand and drug her over to a small storage closet hidden underneath the stairs.

"You're locking me in a closet?" Shazz complained as she crinkled her nose at the must smell.

Reno shoved Shazz inside "Just stay in there and be quiet till we come to get you." He quickly shut the door and Shazz could hear footsteps above her head as the two men raced up the stairs.

When they reached the main room, they froze in the archway when they saw a young man standing ominously in front of Rufus. His silver hair sparkled with the sunlight that came through the window and when he spoke, his words flowed out of him like liquid fire. "Well Mr. President, it seems that we have company."

"Kadaj!" The brazen red head roared as he took off in a dead sprint toward the leather clad demon.

Kadaj turned around and before Reno had the chance to strike he felt a hand lock unto his throat and glowing emerald eyes smiled at him. In one graceful movement of his arm, Kadaj sent Reno flying across the room. The Turk hit the wall is such incredible force that he left a dent. His head felt like it was on fire. He knew that the collision had cracked the back of his skull and he could feel the blood matting to his hair.

Kadaj didn't even bother to look at the damage he had done. He was focused on Rude and braced himself for the attack that would surely come. Rude went after the boy with all he had. He threw all his weight into his fist as he brought it around and aimed it at Kadaj's face. He punch was halted just short of it's target by one hand. Rude was stunned by the young man's strength. Without warning, he felt a blow to his gut equivalent to the force of a wrecking ball.

Rude opened his mouth wide and gasped desperately for air. The colossal man fell down on all fours, fighting to catch his breath. Unfortunately, he was not granted a moment's reprieve. He soon felt an elbow come down hard upon his spine and it sent him crashing down on his stomach in mind numbing agony. He couldn't muster up anymore strength to get back up.

Kadaj calmly straightened his body out and pulled he leather gloves tighter to his hands. "I'm through playing games Mr. President. Where is mother?"

"I apologize if I was too vague the last time we spoke but I believe that I told you that what you are looking for fell out of the helicopter when you attacked us at Sephiroth's wake."

Kadaj had turned his back to Rufus while he was talking. "Really?" he asked in disbelief as he glanced over his shoulder.

"I swear to you."

The silver haired villain scoffed at Rufus's empty gesture. He slipped his hand into his pocket and when he pulled it out, he had two plastic cards fanned out in his fingers. "Swear on these." He threw them to the ground and waited for Rufus's reaction.

A silent rage burned within Rufus as he recognized the blood stained cards. It was Tseng and Elena's ID badges. "What do you want?" His voice was steady and cold

"There is going to be a reunion and for that, I need my mother's strength." His head whipped around and his eye's locked on to Rufus. "All those who have received mother's cells will gather and we will take revenge upon this pathetic planet, but it would seem that someone has hidden her. This has put a stop to our preparations."

"Preparations?"

"Geostigma, and by the looks of it, you know it well"

Rufus did know about Geostigma. His entire upper body ached from the fatal degenerative illness. He sat by and watched as his skin was slowly eaten away by this acidic disease and often times a charcoal colored ooze would drip from his bandages because the moisture in his body would affix with his decaying flesh.

"You know" continued Kadaj "this is really all thanks to mother and she deserves to be praised, but alas" Kadaj's eyes became reminiscent and his voice cracked as if he were about to cry "we can't even find her location. Its shameful! Though I guess it can't be helped. I'm only a vessel anyway. Until we find mother and are given her cells, we can never return to normal."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Rufus. There was a hint of fear in his voice.

"Mr. President? You mean you haven't noticed?" Kadaj stood in front of Rufus and then knelt before him. Slowly he lifted his head and Rufus could feel an electric static that began to pulsate through the entire room. The image of Kadaj began to blur in and out of focus and was soon replaced by a sinister figure. A figure that they thought was dead and gone.

* * *

Cloud stood on the top of the jagged cliffs that were just outside of Midgar. Beside him was a giant sword that had been rusted over due to years of neglect. Cloud looked up at the dreary grey sky and a melancholy wind stirred up the dust on the ground.

When he returned to Midgar, he made it a daily ritual to come here and visit the place where he had laid his beloved to rest. Cloud would often come here to talk to him and sometimes he would just stand here in silence and let the memory of that day wash over him. It tore his heart open to remember such things, but he felt Zack's presence here and any chance Cloud could find to be near him was worth any amount of pain.

"I said I would live out our lives for the both of us. Yeah, it turns out that it's a lot harder than what I had anticipated." Cloud said as he still looked up into the heavens. "I saw her today. I'm sure your soul must be resting peacefully to know that she has kept you alive in her heart all this time."

The wind picked up slightly and it started to swirl around the ex-SOLDIER. "Zack, if you're wondering why she's not with me, it is because she refused to go. If you think about it, its probably for the best. You weren't lying when you said that she was a tough girl. She has been through so much and she still is able to smile."

A violent gust of wind flew at Cloud, carrying with it small rocks and debris. The blonde winced as he was pelted with the tiny flying objects. "Ok I get it. You're upset." The wind died down and Cloud lowered his hands that were guarding his face. "I don't know what you want from me? I wasn't able to protect her back then, and I'm certainly not able to protect her now" His voice softened as he turned away from the rusty sword. It was as if Zack was standing behind him and he was too ashamed to turn around and look him in the eyes. "

"I'm sorry Zack, but she was right to walk away from me. The Turks have watched over her since we made our escape from Shinra. She is safer with them than she ever would have been with me."

* * *

"Kadaj" came a soft yet malevolent tone from the entry way to the main room. Rufus turned his head to find a slender figure standing in the archway. His silver hair was sleek and long and it covered most of his glittering green eyes. His facial features were almost feminine with his high cheek bones and almond shaped eyes. He knew that this was another member of Kadaj's gang.

"Yazoo, did you find mother?" Kadaj had sent his cohort to check the premises for traces of Jenova while he took care of the inhabitants.

"Unfortunately, I was able to locate her, but, I did manage to find something of interest." Yazoo stepped to the side and threw a very frightened Shazz to the floor. She managed to hold her hands out to soften the landing but falling on to a hardwood floor isn't pleasant.

She slid across the floor and her bare legs drug across the vinyl boards. It left her with large burns on her legs and even broke the skin. Her long hair hung haphazardly around her and she felt her entire body shaking. It took all that was within her to stop her teeth from chattering.

"Yazoo, go and find Luz and finish carrying out our plan. I'll meet up with you later." Yazoo nodded his head and quickly took his leave.

Shazz could hear footsteps coming closer to her. Through the veil of hair, she could see that a pair of black leather boots were standing right in front of her. She refused to look up. If the man that found was any indication as to what these people were like, she knew better than to make eye contact.

"Hiding a woman? Funny, I never would have pictured you guys to be the type to keep one around? Kadaj looked over at Rufus with an impish grin.

Reno, who slowly regained his composer, managed to pull his aching body up off the floor using the wall as support. He finally made it to his feet but he still used the wall to lean against. "Keep your hands off of her lost boy." Reno was breathing heavily and his eyes were shooting daggers Kadaj.

"My my, such sentiment." Kadaj couldn't help buy sneer at Reno's outburst.

The Turk only scoffed and bared his signature cocky grin. "Don't get ahead of yourself. This has nothing to do with an attachment to that brat." Reno suddenly switched off his smile and his expression became painfully serious. "The fact is, I made a promise to a friend…and I intend to keep IT!"

Reno made a mad dash towards Kadaj but he never even flinched. He gave the hasty Turk a powerful blow to his diaphragm that sent his intended victim to his knees.

Shazz watched as Reno came crashing to the floor. He was holding his gut, gasping for air, coughing relentlessly, and spiting up blood. _"Reno!"_ Shazz screamed silently. She didn't want to draw attention to herself but it was too late.

"Though no one seems to want to claim you here, you sure do seem pretty important to them." Kadaj got down on one knee and Shazz could feel a gloved hand grip underneath her chin and forced her to look up.

Shazz let out a whimper as her eyes made contact with his. They were the same color as the man who had found her in the storage closet.

Rufus's knuckles turned white as he gripped the handles on his chair. Kadaj could sense his irritation and this made his then lips curl up into a vicious smile. "Hmmm…I wonder…" Within in seconds Shazz could feel a pair of lips press up against hers. She fought to pull away but the vice grip he had on her made it impossible for her to budge even an inch.

She felt his tongue snake its way into her mouth. The intrusion made her want to pull away again, her body made no attempt to move. There was this heated feeling coursing through her veins and she felt as if her blood would begin to boil. She thought that maybe his lips were laced with some kind of drug, but deep down she knew better. She had been drugged before and it felt nothing like this.

No, what she felt scared her more than anything else in this world. She was melting into the kiss. She opened her mouth to allow him full access. The way he ran his tongue over her teeth and gums sent up and down her entire body. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks as she swirled her tongue around his as if she knew exactly where his would go. Why was everything about this kiss so familiar when she had never laid eyes upon this boy before?

Shazz's eyes suddenly flew open and her body went rigid. The kiss had been broken and she could feel his breath in her ear as he whispered, "I remember you. You're taste has lingered in my mouth for sometime now. You remember me, don't you?"

"Sephiroth." Shazz's voice quivered as she said his name. Tears silently fell as she heard him laugh softly.

His hands tangled themselves in her brown locks and pulled her closer. He smelled her hair and sighed. "The smell of your hair is the same as it's always been."

Rufus could see the utter fear and confusion burning in Shazz's eyes and he knew he had to put a stop to it. "Kadaj!" he yelled "I don't know what you are planning to do but please spare Shazz. She has nothing to do with this. Your fight is with me."

Kadaj let go of Shazz and glanced over his shoulder at Rufus "Such chivalry. I never would have expected something like that out of you." His gaze when back to the girl. "To bad its wasted. As I told you before, we have come to take back this planet and that means no one will be spared. Not even this little lamb." Shazz's eyes remained locked to his for as long as he spoke. She was to frightened to look way. "If it will put your mind at ease Mr. President, when I do take her life, I'll make sure that it's swift and painless. That way, she won't have to suffer like the rest of the miserable souls on this planet."


	3. Not The Easiest

Hi my darlings!! Sorry for the late post. I'm trying to get my self on a regular schedule but this week has been crazy wonky...lol yeah that's totally a word. So without further ado...here is the new chapter and this one was inspired by my favorite lady Vienna Teng with the song "Gravity" lake version..but the orginal is good too ^_^

* * *

After Kadaj left the room fell silent. The only thing that could be heard was the pained grunts and heavy breathing of the two wounded Turks.

Rude slowly pulled himself up off the floor and straightened out his suit. He gave his sunglasses a quick shine on his jacket, put them back on, and stood there as dashing as ever with in hands held behind his back. It amazed Reno that no matter what situation they were in, Rude some how always managed to come out looking regal.

Reno managed to pick himself up and dust himself off. He was certain that nothing was broken but he was as sore as hell, but it was nothing that a few pills couldn't fix. He reached in his pocket and took out a couple of pain killers and swallowed them dry. "Hey Rude, you ok man?"

"Just fine" came his calm and steady reply

Reno turned to look at Rufus "How are you doing sir?"

"I'm not the one you should be worried about."

Reno's gaze shifted over to Shazz who was still sitting on the floor completely motionless. Her hair concealed her face like a veil and he couldn't tell how she was feeling. He noticed the scrapes on her leg was starting to heal but it sill looked pretty nasty, although he was sure that a mere flesh wound wasn't what was really bothering her.

The red headed Turk walked up to her and laid a tender hand on her shoulder. "Shazz, are you…"

Shazz flinched at his touch and Reno retracted his hand as if he had touched a burning stove. The young woman didn't mean to act to coldly. She knew they were concerned but her body was still heated after her lip lock with the past. "I…I'm sorry. I just…don't want to be touched."

"But Shazz, you're leg. At least let me look at it." Reno was talking softly to her and this kind of surprised him. Normally he would have yelled at her to shut up and just grab her leg but he was hesitant as he approached her again.

"No!" she screamed as he recoiled further away from him. "Just…please…leave me alone!" Shazz scrambled off the floor and quickly ran upstairs. The men winced as they heard the slamming of the door and the familiar sound of the dead bold being locked.

Rude and Reno looked to the President for instructions but he only shook his head. "Leave her be. I'm sure when she won't lock herself up forever. Right now I need you two to focus on the matter at hand. Kadaj is planning on reuniting the world with Sephiroth once more and we can not allow this to happen. I need you and Rude to go out and find Cloud and convince him to fight. He is the only one that can win this."

The two men nodded their heads and walked out the door.

* * *

Cloud walked across the creaky floorboards of the old dilapidated church. The sun shone through the stained glassed windows and the colors danced in the open space, making the atmosphere all the more welcoming.

The sent o lilies grew stronger as he made his way to his make sift bed that lay upon the dusty floor. Cloud had made himself a home next to the floral garden. It seemed that being here allowed him a certain peace of mind. It was so nostalgic to be here because every flower reminded him of the friends he had lost years ago.

He turned his head to look at the garden and noticed someone laying unconscious amongst the white and yellow lilies. "Tifa!" Cloud's blue eyes when wide when he recognized his childhood friend lying there looking half dead. Frantically he ran to her and kneeling down beside her, he lifted her up in his arms. "Tifa!" he cried again as he shook her to wake her up.

Slowly her eyes fluttered open and even through she was in great pain, her expression was soft when she realized that Cloud was holding her. "You're late" she whispered with a smile.

Cloud looked over her body and saw the wounds on her face and legs. It looked as if someone had burnt her. "Who did this to you?"

"I don't know…he didn't say." Suddenly her mahogany lit up and she shot up out of Cloud's arms. "Marlene!" but before Cloud could ask about the little girl who had been living with them, Tifa fainted due the pain.

Cloud began to scan the church and all signs pointed to a brawl within the sanctuary. There were broken pews, holes in the floor, and there were shards of colored glass scattered everywhere. He finally laid his eyes upon this bed and noticed that his chest full of materia had gone missing.

"Dammit!" he yelled as he looked back at Tifa. How could he have let this happen? If only he had been here sooner? Unfortunately Cloud wasn't given much time to brood. A searing pain shot through his arm and the black ooze began to drip off his limb. He knew the Geostigma must be spreading and he winced as he grabbed his arm. The agony of the infection sent him crashing to the ground.

The beautiful blonde lay upon the lush green garden slipping deeper and deeper into a blissful state of unconsciousness. He felt as if he was lighter than air and his head seemed to be cleared of the heavy fog of confusion. Maybe this was what one might feel before they are ready to return to the life stream. This pure and innocent feeling must mean that he was taking his final rest.

"Cloud" The young man stirred as he heard his name being called, but he didn't want to wake. It was too peaceful here and he didn't want to be taken away from it just yet. "Cloud, come on, wake up."

This time he felt someone shaking him. Sluggishly he opened his eyes and found himself resting on someone's lap. He looked around him and noticed that he was no longer in the church but in what seemed to be a sparkling white room. He rolled over on his back and when he looked up, he was met with a pair of shimmering pair of cerulean eyes. Cloud shot up like he had just sat on a tack and positioned himself so that he was face to face with his former flame.

"Hey Cloud, long time no…" before Zack could finish his sentence he felt Cloud's soft lips pressing madly against his. He could feel one arm wrap around his waist pressing him against his lover's chest. Cloud ran his fingers through familiar black locks and held firmly so Zack had no chance of pulling away. The blonde could taste Zack's sweet breath as his mouth opened to the kiss. He slipped his tongue into the older man's mouth and made sure that no inch was left unsavored.

Cloud wanted him. Wanted him so badly his heart was about to burst right out of his chest but he felt Zack's hands gently push him away. For a moment Cloud felt like he had done something wrong but when he saw his beloved's kind smile, all his worries faded.

"Damn babe. If I had known you would be this aggressive, I would have started walking around in your dreams a long time ago."

"Dream?" Cloud cocked his head to the side and a confused expression was etched upon his face. "You mean I'm not dead?"

Zack got up on his feet and grimaced at Cloud as he helped him on to his. "Are you disappointed? You've got some messed up priorities there Spiky."

"Well if I'm not dead, then I hope I'll sleep forever." Cloud threw his arms around Zack once again and held on to him dangerously. "If dreaming means being with you like this, I want to never wake up."

Zack let out a low chuckle and lovingly ran his fingers through spiky blonde hair. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you've been fully awake for sometime now."

"What do you mean?" asked Cloud as his big blue eyes gazed up at Zack.

"What I mean is, for someone that was told to live out his life, hasn't done much living. Cloud I've watched you and for the past two years you've been walking around in this dream like haze. You refuse to look at the reality that's in front of you and you continue to dwell in a life that no longer exists. Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to sit up here and not see you smile."

Cloud pushed himself away from Zack and turned his back to him. "How can you say you want to see me happy? After all that I've done? Zack I let a dear friend of yours get killed by Sephiroth and as for Shazz…what happened to her was to awful for words and she has to live with that pain for the rest of her life. How can you stand there and tell me that you want to see me smile?"

Zack laid a reassuring hand upon his shoulder. "You need to stop feeling guilty about what happened to Aerith. The earth is her home and she is content using her time being here to help it heal. I know what happened to Shazz and I can't even begin to describe how angry I was that she had to endure such a violation, but what I hate the most right now is that she is still there with him."

"But if you are watching over her as well, can't you do anything to help her? I'm sure you would do a much better job protecting her then me."

"Me? What can I do?" Zack took his hand off of Cloud and began to pace back and forth. "Yeah I mean I can watch over her but the most I can do is manipulate the wind to let my presence be known. I don't know what you expect me to do Cloud? Did you want me to conjure up a violent storm and zap Rufus with a lightening bolt?"

"No, nothing like…"

"Or maybe bring about 90 mile per hour winds that will roll his wheelchair right off a cliff?"

"Come on, you're being redic…"

"Or perhaps you were wanting me to create some monstrous flower of doom that will kill him with it's razor sharp petals?"

"ZACK!!" Cloud yelled trying to break Zack away from his rant. "Could you please focus!?"

The raven haired man gave his usually dumb grin and he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I guess old habits die hard." He let out a little chuckle at his own pun.

Cloud crossed his arms over his chest and cocked an eyebrow. "That's not funny."

"Alright alright, but all joking aside, Shazz doesn't belong with them and deep down…" Zack walked up to his friend and poked him in the middle of his chest " you know it to."

The sullen blonde shook his head "You don't understand Zack. Her and I know that she is safer where she is."

"Is she really?"

Cloud opened his mouth to retaliate, but he quickly shut it when he realized that Zack was right. He wasn't sure if Shazz would be better off with Rufus or with him.

Zack was keen to pick up on his lover's uneasiness. "You see, you know that this situation is bad and you know that Kadaj and his gang are gunning after Shinra and Shazz is smack dab in the middle of it. Whether you want to admit it or not, you know that you are the only one that can fix this."

The young man still couldn't muster up the courage to look his friend in the eye. He felt ashamed that have Zack believe in him so much when he knew he would only let him down. "I…I don't know if I can do it."

"Cloud" Zack reached out and caressed Cloud's cheek. "Look at me." Slowly he rolled his eyes upward to look upon his beloved. "One of the things I most love about you is your passion. You always had this fire blazing inside you and for sometime now it has gone out. I was there when you saw Shazz for the first time after all these years. When you laid your eyes upon her you felt a warmth you thought had long been lost. When she held you in her arms, something inside you seemed to ignite. Right now that spark is as small as a candle flame but it's there. I know that means that you want to move forward and live a peaceful life with Shazz and those you care most about ,but right now you're just to scared to take the first step. I don't blame you babe but sometimes the right path isn't always the easiest one, but we must take it if what we want is worth fighting for."

Zack knew that Cloud would try to protest so he quickly closed the distance between them. He held the young blonde's face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. This kiss brought tears to Clouds eyes this one felt just as chaste and pure as it did the first time they kissed in that smoky bar.

A warm light started to embrace him and in a flash Zack disappeared from his arms. He now lay in a bed staring up at a beige plaster ceiling. Cloud rolled his had to the right and noticed Tifa was resting upon the flannel sheets in the bed next to him.

He brushed away the tears from his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He looked out the window at the orange glow of the setting sun.

"You're quite the heavy load to carry." Cloud's head snapped to the left and say Reno and Rude standing next to the door way.

Rude was looking around the room and noticed pictures of Cloud and Tifa were drawn and posted on the walls. There were also toys and trinkets scattered about the hardwood floors. "Hey, aren't there kids living with you?"

Blue eyes scanned the bedroom and there was no sign of Denzel or Marlene anywhere. Denzel was a blue eyed ,brown haired boy who had been orphaned when his parents were caught up in the explosion in Sector 7. Cloud found the child passed out next to his motorcycle from a Geostigma attack and took him in.

Marlene was a ravened haired darling with honey colored eyes. She was entrusted to Barret after the death of a dear friend of his. He asked cloud to watch over her while he set out to look for alternative energy sources. He promised to come back for her once he was able to provide a good life for her.

"Maybe they are…"

"They're not here Cloud." Reno interrupted with an annoyed tone. The two Turks waited for a response from Cloud but the room remained silent.

"You don't care?" asked Rude showing a hint of concern.

Cloud hung his head. His dream had left him so disoriented. He knew what he had to do, but he still couldn't risk it. He would be no help to anyone. "I do but…I just…"

Reno let out a frustrated sigh "Never mind, we'll look for them ourselves." Rude walked out of the room and Reno closely followed.


	4. Just a Little Push

Hi my loves!! Welcome back!! I have missed you something fierce and I'm glad that you've come back to me! Here is chapter 4 and this was inspired by "Sleep walker" by Adam Lambert.

* * *

Shazz was curled up on her queen sized bed that was set in the corner of her room. Her white cotton sheets were disheveled from tossing and turning and she lay there clutching her pillow to her chest. The sunset illuminated her bedroom with a warm glow but it wasn't enough to settle Shazz's nerves.

She felt guilty about locking herself away again, but she just needed some time to herself. As much as she wished she could talk to someone about this, she knew that no one would possibly understand what she was feeling.

The bottom line was Shazz and Sephiroth had history, good history. The memories Shazz had with him weren't easy to let go and that's why she chose isolation when it came to dealing with matters in which he was involved. She despised herself already for morning his death, she didn't need anyone else around her to pick at the wound.

After sometime Shazz came to accept that he was gone and she even felt a since of relief. Having him gone meant peace to so many and to her as well. She would never forgive Sephiroth for all that he took away from Cloud and from her. Yet despite her convictions, she knew, in the deepest well of her heart, that she would never really hate him. How could she? Her relationship with him was the only time when she felt completely safe and wanted.

Now don't get the wrong idea, this was no story book romance. Sephiroth wasn't exactly a flower and candy type of guy and Shazz had too much on her plate to put any emphasis on a relationship. One could assume that their relationship was purely physical and even though the sex could never be rivaled, it was so much more than that.

What these two had didn't need to be defined by labels. All they knew is that they enjoyed being together. Both of them were outsiders in their own right. Shazz was ignored by her old peers and her news ones were a long way from accepting her. Sephiroth watched as a friend of his started to degrade and even though his body possessed the same cells, in the end he was unable to save his friend. For a long time he wondered why he was the exception. Why he was not going to meet the same fate?

In a passing glance they sensed the same pain in one another but it took awhile for them to allow their feelings to surface. That night in the locker room seemed to be the point of no return. For too long they danced around what they truly wanted and that moment allowed them the chance to finally see where this would lead.

As time passed, it seemed only natural that they sought refuge in each other. No one could really understand what it meant to feel alone even though you were surrounded by people. That's why it was so easy for them to be with each other, even it meant sneaking around. There were nights when the two lovers would talk about anything and everything and there were nights where they did nothing but hold each other and still feel like they had the best conversation.

Shazz could feel the tears start to flow as she thought about her past. Her pillow became stained with her whimpering and she began to hate herself for her weakness. For so long she had buried these memories with Sephiroth and now that he was coming back, these remnants came crashing down upon her like a tsunami.

God how she loathed this! She wanted to forget everything about him because he sure has hell had forgotten all about her. She wasn't naive enough to actually think that Sephiroth would consider her an exception to his revenge, but to actually hear the words tore her apart. How could she have considered loving such an unremorseful beast?

Even though the pain of her memories were eating away at her, it seemed almost bearable to the pain Sephiroth was willing to inflict upon her. She knew that there was really no use for her to be here, in fact her whole role in the reunion seemed rather insignificant. Kadaj could have killed her when he laid eyes on her and everything would have gone on without a hitch. When she locked eyes with the silver haired boy she could see the eyes of her former lover staring back at her. Those haunting emerald orbs smiled as they told her of how they couldn't wait to look upon her face when he finally killed Cloud.

Angry and heartbroken, Shazz screamed into her pillow. "I won't! I won't let you kill him!! I won't!" Clinging desperately to her pillow she began to sob uncontrollably. "Zack!" she cried out "I know you are there and I'm asking you, no, I'm begging you to do me this one last favor, forget me. I know it may seem selfish but I can't stand by and watch him get killed. I will not be left behind again! I lost you but I'll be damned if I lose him too. My heart couldn't bare the loss. I almost wish that Sephiroth would grant me a simple mercy and kill me before he takes that boy's life. Death would be a welcomed gesture than the agony of knowing that I lost you both! I don't know what I'll do but I just can't let him take Cloud away from me. In the long run it may cost me by life but at least I'll die knowing I tried so please Zack…please…leave me behind and give all you can to Cloud. He needs your protection more than I do."

* * *

Reno pulled his ear away from Shazz's door and sympathy was lingering in his crystal blue eyes. He had never heard anybody cry like that and it was enough for his shameless heart to break a little. Softly he made is way down the stair case and into the main room where Rude and Rufus were waiting for him.

"How is she?" Rufus asked

Reno shrugged his shoulders "It's hard to say. I wanted to tell you that she was devastated, but even that word seems like an understatement."

"Whatever you do, don't mention this to Cloud when you see him. The last thing we need is for him to worry about here even more." Reno nodded his head but he didn't really agree. The red head couldn't read the reactions of the men that were standing in front him. Rufus hid his face underneath a white sheet and Rude never wore his emotions out on his sleeve but He sure as hell wasn't going to let Cloud go on thinking that his actions didn't affect anyone. "Moving forward" continued Rufus and this snapped Reno out of contemplation. "I called you back here because I have some good news for you. It would seem that I have a man on the inside that has witnessed children with Kadaj's gang in the Forgotten City."

Reno was grateful for their stroke off luck and smiled at his dark skinned partner. "Well, we be better get going man. It's not safe to leave children in charge of children for too long."

Rude simply nodded his head and followed Reno as they were heading towards the front door. "Wait" Rufus called after them. "I have another bit of good news for you. It seems that our witness was also able to rescue Tseng and Elena and they are being treated at a near by hospital. After you are done delivering the news to Cloud, I want you two to go over there and stand guard. I fear that Kadaj might want to get his hands on them again."

Both men became relieved to know that their comrades were safe sound. "That's great? Who was it that saved them?" Reno asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. I was called from a hospital phone and told that Tseng and Elena were there. He asked what was going on and after I told him the details and he hung up and I never heard from him again."

Reno and Rude stood there for a moment trying to figure out who the mystery rescuer was, but eventually gave up. They had other pressing matters to attend to. "Are you going to be alright sir when we leave?" Reno asked quickly before they left.

"Never mind me, I'll be fine. Now go."

* * *

Cloud sat by the window and had been diligently looking out the window since Reno and Rude had left. A black velvet sky stretched over the land and street lights and neon signs lit up the crumbling streets of Midgar.

"Cloud." came a weary voice behind him. Cloud was relieved that Tifa was finally awake but he just couldn't turn around and face her.

"Reno and Rude are out looking for the Kids?" He said rather shortly to her.

The raven haired beauty sat up in bed and hugged her knees close to her chest. She started to remember the battle she had with a silver haired muscle head and was certain that he must have been the one that took Marlene. She lifted her head to look at Cloud and her eyes zeroed in on his arms. "You have Geostigma don't you?" Cloud remained silent and continued his vigilance. "So it that it, you're just going to give up and die."

Again Cloud didn't respond and his silence was starting to get to her. Her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth clenched. "You are giving up! What is wrong with you Cloud? I know that there is no cure but that isn't stopping Denzel." Tifa realized that her shouting was getting through to him and she tried going with plan B. She released her anger and in a more hopeful tone said "You don't have to run you know. We can beat this together, I just know we can." This time Cloud turned to look at her and she could see disbelief shinning in his eyes. "I guess things like that only happens in real families."

The young man walked over and sat down on the other bed. He stared at the floor and sighed painfully. "Tifa, I'm not fit to help anyone. Not my friends, not my family, not anyone."

Tifa laughed a little underneath her breath. "Dilly dally shilly shally." she sang as she shook her head. Cloud stared at her curiously. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her ramblings. "Dilly dally shilly shally." She repeated a little louder.

"What does that mean?" Cloud asked.

"I think it means that she want's you to move on man." The blonde quickly got to his feet and spun around to face the bedroom door. Reno and Rude were standing in the exact same place they were before they took off. Reno was looking at him ominously.

Tifa swung her legs over the side of the bed, eye eager to see if see that the two men had brought her good news about Denzel and Marlene. "Have you found them?" She asked with words filled with hope.

"We don't have them, but we do have a witness?"

"Kadaj's gang took the kids." Rude said this right after Reno and it seemed as if he was finishing his partner's thoughts.

Tifa looked to Cloud and she could sense his anger when Rude spoke the name Kadaj. She recalled Cloud saying something about a kid named Kadaj who attacked him on his way home.

"Where are they?!" Cloud yelled and Tifa snapped out of her trivial thoughts. His voice was filled with a mixture of anger, sorrow, and reluctance

"They're at their base in the Forgotten City." Rude replied casually.

A sharp pain hit Cloud's stomach as Rude spoke the name of the city. Such bad memories were associated with that place and there was now way he could ever set foot in that area again. "You two should go then" Cloud said as he turned he back toward the two men in the three piece suits. "It's a day's drive and you don't have much time."

Rude stood there and maintained his composer, but Reno jaw just about hit the floor when he heard Cloud's reaction. He was about this open his big mouth to yell at the stubborn blonde when Tifa broke the silence.

"Stop running! I know that even if you find the kids you might not be able to help them and that scares you. Right now you really need to think about the situation and really take it in. You act like you got it so damn hard and that you are better off alone but I know that's not true. Sure you may never answer your phone, but I don't see you throwing it away either!"

Rude was feeling a bit uncomfortable when Tifa started shouting at Cloud. He felt like this was a private moment and that he and his partner should get out of there, but Reno was far from wanting to leave. There was something bubbling beneath the surface and he just waited for the right spark to let it boil over.

"So what's it gonna be Cloud?" Tifa asked harshly "A memory or us?"

There it was. The spark that the red headed Turk had been waiting for. He couldn't believe that Cloud would hold off on going on to save his friends because of the memory of that flower girl. It was just a memory and that could never compete to what he had right now. Tifa might have indulged Cloud's pain but Reno refused to let this moping go on. It was time for some tough love.

"You know what I don't get Blondie." Reno said with a vindictive tone. "I don't get your attachment to the past. Yes, bad things happen but all of us have to get up and move on. But do you know what really boggles my mind is that you are well aware that she is no longer a memory and you still refuse to move your ass!"

Tifa sat quietly on the bed in her own confusion. She had no idea what Reno was ranting about but it was obviously effecting Cloud. She could tell he was holding himself back from tearing Reno apart by the way he was clenching his fist."

Even though the sassy Turk knew was skating on thin ice, he still approached Cloud without caution. "You know Kadaj got is hand on her." This time the ex SOLDIER turned to look at Reno and his eyes looked like a deer in the headlights. "Oh yeah, and it frightened quite a bit. While we were looking for those kids, I went back to check on her and all I could hear were these heart shattering sobs coming from her bedroom. I thought that maybe she was more scared than I anticipated, but I soon learned that those tears weren't for fear of her life, but for yours. Can you believe that? Her life gets threatened and all she cares about is you. God not even I would be as heartless as to ignore something like that."

In a split second Cloud had Reno's back pinned against the wall and his hand was holding tightly to the Turk's throat. Reno was staring into a pair of blazing blue eyes and a face that was scrounged into a vicious scowl. "Don't you dare talk about her as if you really give shit!" Cloud hissed "You know NOTHING about her!"

Reno's hands wrapped around the blonde's arm and he pulled on it trying to relieve some of the pressure from his throat. "You're right man." He said gasping for air. "I don't know much about the girl, but I'll tell you what, if anyone ever cried for me like that, I would make damn sure those tears weren't wasted!"

Cloud grunted as he let go of Reno and the Turk started coughing and gasping for air. The expression on the young blonde's face as he walked over the bed and grabbed the sward that was leaning up against the headboard. Without even acknowledging Tifa he turned right back around and walked right out the door.

"Cloud! Cloud where are you going? Hey, wait just a min…" Tifa was cut off by a burly arm that blocked her from exiting the room. She looked over at Rude and then at Reno was still trying to catch his breath. She had no idea what just happened and she was about to ask Reno when she heard the roar of Cloud's motorcycle. She ran towards the window and she made it just in time to see a pair of tail lights fade into the night. "Where is he going?"

"To the Forgotten City." Rude replied nonchalantly.

"How can you be so sure?" Tifa's brown eyes fell upon Reno who had finally regained his composer and was leaning against the doorframe. "And you, what did you say to him?"

An impish grin formed upon Reno's thin lips. "An object at rest will remain at rest unless an external force is applied to it." Tifa was surprised and a little bit confused by his statement. "Oh yeah…I know things."

"Ooookay, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Let's just say" he said with a sly smile "I know the one person that can give Cloud that push he needs to get moving."

"Hold up a seconded? Who from his past are you talking about?"

Reno started to walk out the door and with out looking back he waived good bye and yelled "Sorry we can't stay in chat, but we have an important appointment to keep."


	5. My Peace

The holidays are approaching so before i left on a little vaca i wanted to post a quick chapter. This one was inspired by the song Tallulah but Sonata Artica. I want to wish all my darling readers a very safe and happy holiday weekend! Love you all dearly!

* * *

Eyelids slowly fluttered open to a sun filled room. A pair of brown eyes looked at the digital clock that sat upon the night stand. The time was half past one in the afternoon.

Shazz stretched out her entire body and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had slept in that long. It wasn't because she wanted to, it was because she was used to Reno banging on her door early in the morning to tell her to get her ass downstairs for breakfast.

She kicked her blankets off and gingerly set her feet down on the cold hardwood floor. She walked into the bathroom and took a look at herself in the mirror above the white porcelain sink. My god did she look like hell. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, he skin was covered in dirt from when she was fighting with Reno outside, and she was sore from being thrown to the ground.

She gave off a disgusted groan as she walked over to the shower and turned on the hot water for a shower. As she waited for the water to warm up, she pealed off her clothes and tossed them on the floor. When she saw the steam rising up from the shower, she adjusted the cold so the water was a perfect temperature.

She stepped into the shower and closed the opaque sliding door. A wave of comfort crashed upon her as she stood underneath the warm stream. The water not only washed her body, but it cleansed her mind as well. In his moment she thought of nothing but the water cascading down her skin and it was a sweet relief to her conscience.

* * *

Rufus was sitting at the edge of his bed in nothing but a pair of white slacks. On his nightstand was a basin filled with hot water and a roll of fresh bandages. It was the first time he had attempted to change his gauze since he was infected with Geostigma, but since he sent his men away, he really had no choice.

He reached over for the wash rag when he heard his cell phone ring. Instead of the rag, he picked up his cell that was lying on the table. "Rufus Shinra." This was his normal greeting when taking calls.

"Sir, this is Tseng."

"Tseng, this is a surprise. I take it from the phone call that you have recovered?"

"Not entirely sir. I'm still working on a few cracked ribs but other than that, I'm doing well."

"Sir…uhh…" Tseng cleared his throat "How is…I mean…err…how are you doing?"

Rufus couldn't help but smile. He knew exactly who Tseng was asking about and if he was too embarrassed to come right out and say it, then he was going to have to blurt it out. "I am doing well Tseng, but I can't say the same for Shazz. Kadaj got his hands on her you know. She didn't take the encounter very well."

"So I've heard." The voice on the other line became soft and almost inaudible "How is she today?"

Rufus sighed a little before he answered. "I hear the water running so I know she is up, but I haven't really seen her."

Tseng was silent for a moment and then said "I'll be back to work as soon as possible."

"There is no rush. Would you like me to tell Shazz that you called?"

"No, you don't have to. She's worried enough as it is and besides….I uh…kind of…would like to surprise her."

"Very well then."

"Good bye sir."

Rufus hung up the phone and set it back down on the nightstand. It was awkward to watch a romance begin to bud between his one confidant and the one girl he once, no, still had feelings for. There was nothing he could do about it. If letting this happen meant making amends, than he would let it happen.

* * *

Shazz stepped out of the steam filled bathroom wearing nothing but a towel on her head. There was something surprisingly liberating just walking around naked and she was finding it hard to make herself get dressed. Yet she knew being exposed like that wasn't making it a safe living environment, so she went to her dresser and started to rummage through her clothes.

While looking through her bottom drawer, something caught her eye. She pulled out a pair of grey sweat pants that were two sizes to big and a black tank top that definitely wasn't hers. Right away she realized that these were Zack's clothes and she must have packed them by mistake.

She opened up her top drawer and pulled out panties and a bra and went ahead and put on her friend's clothes. She strolled over to the full length mirror on the other side of the room and smiled when she looked at herself.

Of course the clothes hung on her but it was so nostalgic to wear them. All that would make this moment perfect would be if Zack was here commenting that he couldn't understand how his boobs could fill out the shirt and hers couldn't. She took the towel off her head and rand a brush through her damp locks. She decided that she was going to wear these all days and she secretly hoped that Rufus would notice and become upset.

She unlocked her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway. As she headed down the stairs, she couldn't help but notice how quite the house was and she liked it. She figured Reno and Rude were out looking for Kadaj and she was grateful for their absence. Today she resolved herself that she would do whatever it takes to protect Cloud and she didn't need Reno ruining her good mood.

She walked into the kitchen and the linoleum tiles were just as cold as the hardwood floors. The kitchen was fairly small with limited counter space but had all the necessities like a fridge, sink, stove and microwave. The counter tops were a grey granite color and the cupboards were made from beautiful cherry wood.

Shazz opened the fridge and perused the contents. She settled on making scrambled eggs and as she reached in to pick up the carton she heard a cry of agony coming from the other side of the lodge and it followed by a loud thud.

She set the eggs down and quickly shut the refrigerator door and ran across the house until she came to Rufus's door. She opened his door and found him lying on the floor unconscious. She knew this must have been caused by a Geostigma attack and she rushed to his side. Shazz hooked her arms underneath his and managed to lift him up and back on to the bed. She gently placed his head upon the pillow and swung his legs around so he would be lying flat on is his back.

The young woman looked at the nightstand and then back at Rufus. She figured he was just trying to change his bandaging prior to the attack and by the looks of things, the infection was spreading. Shazz went and sat on the edge of the bed and took the wash rag out of the basin and rung it out. She began to wash away the dried up ooze from the infection and she could help but find the humor in all of this.

"I can't believe it. After all these years and I'm back to taking care of you when you pass out on the floor."

* * *

Rufus opened his eyes and blinked away the sleepiness. The room was dark and the only light came from the moon that shone through the sheer curtains. He turned he head to notice he was wrapped in fresh bandages. He thought that maybe Reno had come back early thought it would seem strange since he was ordered to stay with Tseng and Elena until they recovered.

"You're finally awake." Rufus looked towards the doorway at a shadowy figure. The voice indicated that it was Shazz but the baggy clothing was throwing him for a loop.

"Shazz, did…did you do this?"

"Do you see anyone else around?" Shazz walked over the side of the bed and flipped on a tiny lamp.

"You're right, it's just you and me." Rufus couldn't help but smile when he found out that Shazz was the one to help him. "But to be honest, I thought with no one around you would have made a break for it."

Shazz sat down on the bed and gave a heavy sigh "And where would I go? Thanks to you I have no friends, my parents were killed when the meteor hit, Zack is gone, and Cloud is only half here. I guess I just have to take my chances and stay here with you. Here." Rufus pushed himself up into a sitting position and Shazz handed him a glass of water. "Drink this, you look dehydrated."

In the light he noticed that that the clothes Shazz was wearing looked familiar, almost like if it was an old SOLDIER training uniform. It dawned on him that it really was and he was about to say something but instead he just swallowed his pride and drank the whole glass of water. "Thank you." he said while setting the glass down.

This made Shazz raise and eyebrow. "What did you say?"

The former Shinra President laughed a little at her reaction. "I suppose I haven't said that a lot you."

"You've never said it actually."

Rufus's expression became sullen, almost apologetic. He reached out and laid his hand on top of Shazz's. "There are a lot of things left unsaid between us."

She recoiled her hand away from his quicker than lightening. She turned her back to him and something in her knew what he wanted to talk about. "If you are planning on apologizing you can forget it. It's too little too late."

"I realize sorry will never be enough for what I did but what else can I say to you?"

"There is nothing you can say! Rufus you knew how worried I was about Zack and Cloud but instead of sympathizing with me, you kept me from seeing them. You could see that was I was upset about the situation and for you to do what you did was completely unforgivable."

"Don't you think I know that?!" he shouted. He winced a little as a sharp pain shot through is arm and he knew he had to calm down. He cleared his throat and continued with more control over his emotions. "Shazz I don't expect you to forgive me, I don't even know if I'll ever forgive myself. I can't leave things as they are. I want to move on and the only way I know how is to say my peace."

Shazz was quiet for a moment and softly replied "Fine."

He inhaled and exhaled deeply before he spoke. "Shazz, growing up I didn't have a lot of friends. Most of them saw me as their own personal bank or an opportunity to get close with my father. I just started to give up on people, but then I met you. That day by the lake, I will never forget it. When you looked at me and I say myself reflected in your chestnut eyes, I knew you only saw me as Rufus and nothing else. You can't possibly understand how much that meant to me. I wanted to hold on to that feeling forever and I guess I held on to tightly. The thought of you giving that look to anyone else just drove me insane. I'm not making excuses for what I did but you have too know that despite it all I loved you. You don't have to believe me and I wouldn't blame you if you blocked all memories of us but you have to know that underneath it all I truly cared for you."

The room was filled with an eerie silence. Shazz was still sitting there with her back turned to him and she gave no indication that she was going to say anything. Late a calm voice could be heard over the dead air. "You're wrong you know."

Rufus was taken aback by this. He thought for sure Shazz would be yelling at him, but she was surprisingly docile. "Excuse me?" he said.

Shazz turned back around and locked eyes with him. "You're wrong. Of course I remember that day by the lake, in fact, I carry it with me as a cherished childhood memory. Rufus you were my first love and that's not easy to forget. You have to understand that I was just a poor farm girl. I was always surrounded by dirt. I was either helping in the field or I was cleaning the house. When I saw you standing on the dock you were the most beautiful think I had ever seen. You were dressed in white, the sun on your golden hair created this halo, and your eyes were as blue as the water. I wanted to keep you forever, like a child does when they find a seashell or a shiny pebble. Its their treasure and as dumb as it sounds, that's what you were to me."

Guilt started to eat away at him when he realized that Shazz really did care for him a great deal. She waited for Rufus to respond but she just sat there in silence. Shazz took this as a sign to continue with her story. "You know I went back to that dock everyday hoping to see you again, but you never came. It took three years before I would set eyes upon you."

"When did this happen?"

"It was the day of your sixteenth birthday and there was a huge celebration for you downtown. Since my family had a really great crop that year, we made a little extra money and we went to the festival. I had never seen so many lights, flowers, or people in one place and of course at the time I didn't realize that this was all for you. My father had left to get us some ice cream and I was walking around with my mom when I spotted you out of the corner of my eye talking to a bunch of guys in suits. I immediately took off running towards you but my mother grabbed my arm. She asked me where I was going and I pointed at you. I told her that you were the boy Rufus that I couldn't stop talking about for like ever and she looked at you and back at me. _"Shazz do you know who that is? That's Rufus Shinra?" _Of course her comment meant nothing to me because I was so sure you would remember me."

"Why didn't you yell for me? I would have come for you?" he said rather surprised that Shazz was actually there and he didn't even notice her.

"I couldn't. My mom held on to me and she had this look on her face as if she was about to tell me that there was no Santa Claus. She grabbed both of my arms, looked me straight in the eye, and something that would never forget. _"Shazz honey, I believe you when you say he is your friend, but things are different now. He's in a new world that doesn't allow people like us in it. I'm sorry Shasta, but from this moment on, you are Rufus can no longer be friends." _

Rufus stiffened when her heard the comment that Shazz's mother made. "So was then when you decided to write me off?"

Now it was Shazz's turn to laugh. "Are you kidding me? I actually became bound and determined to prove her wrong. I busted my ass in school so that I could get a job with Shinra Inc. I didn't care if had to scrub toilets. It would be worth it if it meant I could be closer to you. You couldn't imagine my surprise when I got that letter to transfer up to corporate. I was finally going to have my chance to be with you, but you were quick to prove my mother right. It was my third day on the job and you called me into a meeting because you forgot a file. When I handed it to you I made the mistake of calling you Rufus. It must of embarrassed you in front of your coworkers because you yelled at me and told me that I was being unprofessional and that I was to address you as "sir" from now on."

"That only happened once" Rufus said in his defense.

"Oh no, there were multiple time when you would flaunt superiority. You would throw your money around as well as your power but giving me such useless and demeaning things to do. Not only that, I would see exotic beauties hanging on your arm and you thought nothing of my feelings."

Rufus's face was turning red with rage and he automatically went on the defense. "How can you say that?! I know was hard on you I always kept your best interest at heart. I pushed you to your limits because I knew you could handle it. I knew that if everyone could see how dedicated you were they would come to accept you and it would be easier for us to be a couple. I admit it was cruel but in the end our goal was the same. We wanted to be together but somewhere along the line, that girl that I fell in love with by the lake was starting to slip away."

Shazz could only shake her head at this moment. "You know, it makes me sad to realize that you think there is nothing wrong with what you just said." Tears started to fall without warning and she quickly brushed them away. "You say that you miss that little girl by the lake, well news flash Mr. President, she never left! You just stopped looking for her. I became nothing more than a status to you and the only way for us to be together was if I changed. Rufus I had a great life with loving parents and wonderful friends and I never thought I would be ashamed of it. That was until I met you. I remember wishing that I was born into a higher social class so that it wouldn't have to be this hard."

"Shazz, I loved you! Wasn't that enough?"

"You just don't get it do you?" Tears were coming down in streams upon her cheeks and she refused to wipe them away. "Rufus I would have been with you if you were the CEO of the richest company or if you were just a manger of a little kiosk in the market place. I never cared for your money or your power, all I saw when I looked at you was my treasure that I found by the lake. Now all I see is a hollow shell of a man that has lost everything."

Rufus had to turn his eyes away from her gaze. No matter how he looked at it, Shazz was right. He could say that he loved her all he wanted, but the simple fact was, he had failed at showing it. "Shasta, if you despise me this much, why would you show me such kindness?"

"Because I'm not like you and I refuse to ever let myself get that way. When someone hurts me I don't go seeking revenge. I leave it up to fate and by the looks of things, fate has dealt you quite a blow. Even though I feel like you have gotten what you deserve, I would never be so cruel as to kick someone when they are down."

Shazz got up off the bed and walked to the door.

"So where do we go from here?" Rufus called after her.

Shazz paused underneath the door frame and looked back at the broken man sitting up in the bed "We move forward Rufus, we just move forward."


	6. The Forgotten City

Welcome to 2010 my loves!!! I hope that your new year's resolution to read more!! ^_^ Lol but in all seriousness, i turly hope that the new year has found you all in good health and brings you all that your heart desires! This chapter was inspired by one of my favorite bands The Rasmus and the song it "The Fight" Please enjoy darlings!

* * *

Cloud sped through the mysterious forest with its beautiful luminescent trees and glittering lakes. The scenery was tranquil and it almost seemed enchanted the way the foliage sparkled in the onyx sky

But the Forgotten City was far from a fairy tale. This place held nothing but sorrow and regret for the poor blonde and it made it hard for him to admire any beauty in the scenery. Being here was crushing him and the only thing that kept him here were the kids. He promised himself that he wouldn't return home without them.

_"Is that the only reason you came?" _A sing song voice traveled on the wind by his ear and the next thing he new he was thrown into a room with pure white light.

Cloud looked around for the origin of the voice and he backed up in his search he was stopped but somebody behind him. His blue eyes became ample with the knowledge of who his back was pressing against. He knew he was standing back to back with his past_."I can feel you breaking Cloud and yet you still came." _Cloud felt a frail hand slip into his and his body stiffened. _"Why are you really here?"_

"I…I think I want to be forgiven, more than anything."

She let out a cheerful giggle at Cloud's answer_ "By whom?"_

Finally the young man mustered up enough courage to turn around and meet his past face to face, but instead of looking into a pair of glistening green eyes, he just saw the eerie glow of the Forgotten City.

Suddenly a gun shot was fired and it quickly grabbed Cloud's attention. He whipped his head around and saw three men dressed in black, glowing aquamarine eyes, and silky silver hair. There was a familial glow coming from Loz's and Yazoo's and Cloud knew that the weapons were laced with his stolen materia.

Yazoo started firing rapidly and Cloud could out maneuver the bullets easy enough. He didn't care to fight with two minions. His real target was the smirking ring leader of the group. He drew his sword and gunned his bike in Kadaj's direction.

Kadaj didn't even flinch at the oncoming motorcycle; instead he walked casually towards it and drew his doubled bladed sword. With his free hand, he whirled it in the air, signaling the kidnapped children to come down from their tree top perches. Cloud was disgusted at their ploy of using children as a manner of defense and he did his best to avoid hitting any of them, but then a familiar face appeared before him.

"Denzel!!" He shouted as he noticed that the auburn haired child's eyes were glowing with mako energy. "So is this what they're doing. Turning children into soldiers." Cloud thought to himself as he continued to approach the boy. "Denzel!! Move!!!" but the boy didn't budge. With a frustrated scream, Cloud whipped his bike in the other direction. He felt it begin to sway underneath him and he quickly lost his balance and fell off the back.

Cloud grunted has he body made contact with the ground and his bike continued to skid further in front of him. Liz stopped the hurling object with little effort with his foot and Kadaj gracefully leapt over the bike. He strolled up to the fallen man and his eyes glittered with excitement. "So glad you could make it big brother" he said with a wicked snarl.

"I just came for the kids" replied Cloud with even more animosity

The silver haired devil chuckled as he turned himself around to face the children that had made a circle around them. "Do you see this broken man before you? He's our big brother, but alas…" Kadaj took his sword and held it in close to Cloud's face "in our happy flock, he is what you would call a black sheep."

A little dark haired girl pushed her way through the crowd of children and her brown eyes widened as she saw her guardian with a blade being held to his throat. "CLOUD!!!" She screamed and Kadaj turned to look in her direction.

Cloud took advantage of the distraction and rolled away from the edge of the blade. He quickly grabbed his weapon and launched himself towards Kadaj, but his two cohorts were quick to step in front of him. Yazoo wasted no time in taking a couple shots at him and while Cloud dodged the bullets, Loz lurched forward and landed a perfect hit on the blonde that sent him flying.

He landed hard on the ground and even thought his body began to ache, he had no time to think about the pain. Yazoo and Loz were barreling down on him and he quickly scrambled himself off the ground. With his sword he managed to dodge another volley of bullets as well as the physical attacks from the muscle headed Loz.

It had been sometime since Cloud had fought and the tag team of Loz and Yazoo was really taking its toll on him. He was busy trying to defend himself from the lighting speeds blows from the whimpering caveman that he neglected to watch out for Yazoo who had slinked his way in front of the blonde and landed a power kick to his jaw.

As he was sent flying, Cloud maneuvered his body in the air so that he would land on his feet. He hit the ground like a recoiled spring and he shot forward with great force to attack his gun carrying opponent. Meanwhile, Loz was charging is weapon and when it reached full capacity; he slammed it into the ground. His monument us force caused a tidal wave of earth and debris.

From the gleam of his sword, Cloud could see the approaching danger and he quickly counterattacked with a bluish, crescent shaped slash that broke Loz's powerful ambush. The collision of these two forces of energy caused an enormous explosion that allowed a dusty curtain to envelope the battlefield.

Loz wasted no time in taking advantage of this temporary moment of blindness to strike quickly and land another direct hit upon Cloud. As the dust began to settle the three men became entwined in a dangerous dance of bullets and blades. The cycle seemed never ending and in a desperate attempt to catch a moment to breath, Cloud ascended to the tree tops.

Almost as it if it had been rehearsed, the nimble Yazoo jumped onto Loz's arm and he threw his partner into the air. His feline like body soared through the glowing branches with such dexterity that it looked almost effortless to him. In the illuminated canopy, Cloud and Yazoo engaged in a dangerous trapeze act and with on false move, both could easily plummet to their death.

Down below, Kadaj watched with shear amusement. He bided his time and waited for the right moment to strike. It would come soon enough. Cloud spotted his smiling face from a distance, ignored his other attackers, and went in for the kill. Kadaj deflected the first blow with ease, but Cloud wasn't about to give up. He kept slashing at the silver haired boy who was laughed with every impending blow.

After a volley of wicked blows and slick maneuvering, their blades came to a standstill as their eyes connected. Cloud was breathing heavy but his rage kept him from keeling over. "If you plan on killing me Kadaj, why not just do it now instead of playing these games."

"And what, miss out on all this fun!" Kadaj leapt forward with another artful series of blows and again their blades were stilled as both excreted pressure on each other. "Besides big brother, if I kill you, then I'll have to kill Shazz and there's so much more I want to do to her."

A fire ignited behind those baby blues and a scream equivalent to that of a mad man escaped his lips. He swung his sword wildly, hacking away at Kadaj's blade and unleashing a fury of sparks with each blow. Kadaj deflected every hit with ease and his mocking laughter was sending Cloud over the edge. The ex-soldier's rage was clouding his judgment and Kadaj saw his opening. He raised his weapon and was about to strike when a red cloak floated between him and his opponent.

The crimson phantom soared through the air distracting Kadaj's gang. All three began to attack the figure but no bullet or blade seemed to penetrate the cloth. Cloud took this widow of opportunity to run towards his bike. He quickly turned on his motor and revved his engine. Before he took off, he looked back to make sure Kadaj wasn't following him. When the coast was clear, he took off towards the edge of the city.

* * *

Cloud parked his bike near a quite pond that was a safe distance from Kadaj's base. The young man took a seat near the water's edge and started to knead his infected arm. The injuries he sustained during battle were minimal but his mind still wouldn't let him rest.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew past him and he turned his head I the direction of the breeze he saw a tattered red cape floating on the wind and a ghostly figure dressed in armor was standing by his side. Long dark hair hung wildly over his crimson eyes and almost covered his hauntingly beautiful face.

Though Cloud was thankful for his friends' aid, he still hung his head in shame. "Vincent, I'm sorry I wasn't of any help to you." There was no response from the man with the lily white skin and Cloud didn't blame him for his silence, but there was something that he needed to know. "How did you know I was here?"

"I come here often and have seen what Kadaj and his gang have been up too." Vincent's voice was low and gruff but yet it still had a most seductive timbre. He knelt down beside Cloud and grabbed his infected arm. The blonde winced as a sudden bolt of pain shot through him. "The stigma, it's an alien matter infesting the body. Our bodies try and eliminate it and overcompensates. The life stream is like a current inside of us and right now it is working overtime trying to get rid of the intruders."

Cloud snatched his arm away and looked curiously at his friend "What do you mean by intruders?"

"The Sephiroth gene or Jenova cells, call it whatever you want."

The young blonde pulled himself off the ground and turned his back to Vincent as he headed towards is bike. "Well aren't you well informed?" Cloud hit the release button and the sound of wheezing gears indicated that a compartment had opened. Cloud put his sword into the slot and quickly shut it.

Vincent remained by the water's edge, staring blankly at the dark pool. "You know Tseng and Elena were brought here half dead. I did what I could to save them but, we'll see."

"Why would Kadaj give a damn about the Turks?" Cloud asked as we walked towards his friend.

"They got their hands on Jenova's head."

Cloud went rigid as her realized what was going on. "So that's why he keeps referring to mother?"

Vincent turned to look at his old friend and his face was expressionless. "If they wanted to, they could recreate Sephiroth."

"What is Kadaj?" Asked Cloud as a shiver traveled up his spine.

"I'd rather not know."

All of sudden they heard something rustle in a nearby bush. Both men braced themselves for an attack but instead of an enemy, it was a round faced little girl that came running towards Cloud.

"Marlene!?"

The poor thing was beside herself as she desperately clung to Cloud. "Cloud!! Denzel…and Tifa!!"

"Tifa is alright" he cooed as he stroked the girl's dark hair "Everything is ok."

"I want to talk to her!"

Cloud reached inside is pocket for his phone only to find that it was no longer there. He figured he must of lost it during the battle. "I'm sorry Marlene. I don't have it on me."

The girl turned towards Vincent "May I?" The ravened haired figure flung his cloak open to reveal that he didn't even own a phone. Marlene pouted and her soft brown eyes looked up at Cloud and pleaded with him to take her home.

"Vincent, bring Marlene home for me. I need to stop by Shinra to get some answers."

"I can't do that" came his deep raspy voice

"But I…"

"Forget it Cloud!" There was a quiver in Marlene's voice as she tried to fight back tears "You never pay any attention to us!"

Cloud felt a dagger enter his heart as Marlene ran away from him and in to the arms of his friend. The pale skinned man wrapped his cloak around her protectively and the only thing he could see was the white of her sneakers. "Marlene please, give me some time. There is a battle that needs to be fought and it isn't as simple as just fighting it. Do you understand?"

"No I don't!" Marlene screamed back at him.

"Cloud are you sure this is about fighting?" asked Vincent

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean?" Cloud replied with a grimace.

"At sometime we all have to face the demons of our past, but that shouldn't stop us from our duties here in the present."

Vincent and Cloud locked eyes and something in those blood red pools told Cloud that Vincent knew more about his own situation more than he let on.

"What gives you the right to say something like that to me?" Cloud inquired suspiciously.

"Oh? Have you forgotten? We were fighting along side you back then. Every battle, every blood shed, and every tear was witnessed together. Our reasons for moving on might be different but our goal is the same. We all want to be able to live in peace with those we love, that is, unless you feel that a common enemy is better suited to protect them?"

Those last words punched Cloud right in the gut. He looked at Vincent and something in his silence told him he knew about Shazz. He didn't bother to ask how Vincent knew because right now the reason didn't matter. It was apparent that Rufus had resolved himself to protect his dear friend and the idea of him being the one to save her was unsettling.

Maybe he wasn't the hero he once was, but he'd be damned if he let Rufus have the satisfaction of helping Shazz, or any of his friends for that matter.

"Marlene, we're going home" commanded Cloud as he walked back to his bike. The brown eyed girl poked her head out from behind the red cape and a smile was beaming from ear to ear. She ran to Cloud and he helped her unto his bike. Could positioned himself on the leather seat in front of Marlene and he turned his head to look back at her. "Hold on tight."

Before he turned the ignition, his gaze fluttered back to his old friend "Vincent, do you think that sins are ever forgiven?"

"I don't know. I've never tried."

"Well I'm gonna try." Cloud started his motorcycle and the engine roared to life. Cloud waived good-bye to Vincent and took off towards home.


	7. Bittersweet Moment

holy crap is it cold out loves!!! I hope you are all staying warm in this weather! I hope this new chapter helps to warm you up. This one was inspired by the song "Weightless" bye Black Lab. Please enjoy!

* * *

Tseng stood outside the front door to the Healin Lodge waiting for Reno, Rude, and Elena to catch up with him. When he was released from the hospital we had rushed over to the lodge without hesitation, but now that he stood just inches from the door, he could barely take another step. He nervously combed his fingers through his hair and straightened his jacket.

"Tseng, buddy" Reno's outburst startled him "God, you look like this is your first day on the job. Just chill for a sec."

Tseng cleared his throat and took in a long deep breath. "Reno, in my absence have you forgotten how to address your superior."

The red head's nose crinkled at the comment. "Uhhhhhhhhhh…no sir."

"Good." Tseng straightened his tie and reached out his hand to turn the door handle. All four Turks entered the main room and acting on instinct, they all stood in a straight line and awaited orders from the president.

The whining of the motorized chair became louder as Rufus came into the room. "Tseng, Elena, welcome back. I trust you have made a full recovery."

"Yes sir." They replied simultaneously.

"Very well then. All of you, we have a very rough road ahead of us. Kadaj and his gang aren't going to wait forever and they are bound to stumble across Jenova sooner or later. We must prepare ourselves for battle." He looked over at Tseng and noticed that his grey eyes were subtly scanning the room. "Sorry to throw you and Elena into conflict so quickly but I'm afraid we need all the help we can get."

Elena's lips curled up menacingly. "No worries sir. I look forward to taking out some revenge upon those bastards."

Rufus smiled. He was glad to see that Elena had not lost her fire. "Elena I need you to go and make sure all transportation will be running perfectly. Reno and Rude, I give you permission to dig up what ever you can to use for explosives."

Reno's eyes lit up and his smile became as wide as a child in a candy store. "ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL RRRRRIGHT!!! You can count on us sir."

"You are dismissed."

Reno practically skipped out of the room as he went on his scavenger hunt for explosives. Rude calmly followed behind him. Elena walked out the front door to check on the motorcycles and the helicopter. However, Tseng remained in the room and it was no surprise to Rufus to see him standing there.

"Is there something I can help you with Tseng?"

"Well sir…I wondering…er…I mean with your permission…could I…"

"She's outside." Interrupted Rufus. Tseng was a little startled that the president knew what he was getting at. "Well don't just stand there, go see her."

"Uhh yes sir." He wasted not time in getting to back the door. He opened it anxiously and when he looked outside, He didn't see her anywhere. He followed a path that had been worn into the ground and it led him down the earthen stairs.

His eyes darted from one side to the other trying to spot her, but she was no where to be seen. He was about turn around when he spotted her standing on the little steel bridge. The wind was blowing through her silky hair and the sunlight brought out an auburn hue. She was dressed comfortably in loose fitting navy Capri pants and a white tank top with horizontal matching stripes. She was looking up at the azure sky and her expression was serene. The first thought he had was just to wait for her to notice him. She looked like she didn't want to be disturbed, but his body acted faster than his brain and he called out her name.

Shazz turned in the direction of the voice and her eyes stared in disbelief. "Tseng?" He smiled as soon as she spoke his name and Shazz responded with a smile as equally as bright as the sun. Without hesitation, Shazz rushed over to Tseng and she threw her arms around him. "Tseng! I can't believe you're here! I was so worried!"

Tseng winced as Shazz's body collided with his. She could feel his body recoil a little and she immediately pulled away from him. "I'm so sorry Tseng, are you still hurt?"

"No not really" he forced a grin and patted his chest "My ribs are just a little tender that's all."

The happy look on the young woman's face quickly disappeared. She remembered that Tseng had returned from being held captive and she knew his injuries must be great. "Be honest with me, how badly did they hurt you?"

"Please don't worry Shazz. It's not as bad as you think. It took me a few days to recover at the hospital…"

"Hospital? You mean you were here?"

Tseng wanted to take back those words more than anything at this point but his silence wasn't going to make the situation better. "Yes, but it was only for a little while."

"Why didn't you send for me?"

"Because I couldn't let you see me like that. Shazz, I was pretty messed up and the last thing I wanted to do was make you worry anymore than you already have."

Shazz turned away from him and headed back towards the bridge. She propped her elbows on the banister and rested her chin on her hands. "So you would go so far as to protect me from yourself?"

The way she turned from him had cut deep. He had no intention of hurting her. "Shazz, it's not like that at all. Maybe a little part of me wanted to protect you, but it was my pride that kept me from you." Tseng approached her cautiously. He stood by her side and even though she didn't look up at him, he never took his eyes off her. "I was supposed to look after you, but instead I leave and I ended up being captured. Because of my mistake you were forced to live with a man you hate and for that I'm truly sorry."

Shazz sighed and shook her head "Don't be stupid Tseng. I know you were just doing your job and it's not your fault that Kadaj got his hands on you. Did you actually think that I would fault you for doing what had to be done?"

"No, but Shazz I…"

"It's ok Tseng." Her eyes peered up at him and he was relieved to see that there was no anger behind them. "Yes, I had hoped that I would never have to lay my eyes on Rufus for as long as I lived but circumstances change. It was hard at first but Rude was always there silently looking out for me and Reno, even though he was a huge pain in my side, carried out your orders to keep me safe. Tseng I'm not the same girl I once was and I'm ready to move forward. I'm no longer afraid of Rufus."

She gave him a half smile and Tseng took this as a sign that it was ok to stand closer to her. "Yes I can see that. I'm glad you overcame your fear, but I wouldn't have blamed you if you decided to leave. In fact, I expected that you would."

Shazz bit her lower lip and her brown eyes looked up into his nervously "Would you believe me…if I told you the reason I didn't leave…was because of you." Tseng let out a little gasp as his eyes widened. A warm feeling began to run through his body and he wanted to say something back to her but he couldn't find the words. His silence was unnerving so Shazz filled it overwrought ramblings. "It's true you know. If I wanted to leave I would have just gone, but I knew this would be the first place you would go when you came back. I just….I just wanted to be here when you came home."

Tseng thought the whole world had gone silent. He heard nothing but the pounding of his heart and he saw nothing but himself reflected in her deep brown eyes. He ran the lines over and over in his head of what he wanted to say to her, but he couldn't even open his mouth. Suddenly he felt her hand upon his cheek and it felt like she was brushing something away.

"Tseng are you ok? Are your ribs hurting you? What's wrong?"

The Turk reached up and touched his damp cheek. Had really been crying? He was looking at Shazz and her eyes were filled with concern. "No, nothing hurts. Shazz…I've waited so long…I wanted to tell you…but I didn't think you…"

He was stopped short of finishing his thought when a pair of soft lips brushed across his. Thin arms wrapped themselves around his neck and she crushed her body against his. Trimmers traveled down his spine as Shazz twirled her fingers around his dark hair. Again Tseng's body reacted quicker than his mind. He could feel himself pull her closer to himself but all the while he couldn't quite comprehend that his was really happening

Just before the kiss went any deeper, Shazz pulled herself away. She giggled bashfully as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I guess the proper thing would have been to tell you that I loved you before I kissed you."

"It's ok, its not like I'm complaining….wait…you love me?"

Shazz looked up at him curiously "Well I thought the kiss made it obvious, but if you need clarification…"

"NO…no I get it. It's just, I've loved you for sometime now and I was nervous to tell you because I didn't want to make things complicated. To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed that it was you who took the first steps." Tseng blushed a little as he scratched the back of his head.

" I know that a relationship between us isn't going to be easy. I mean Rufus isn't going to like it."

"Cloud definitely isn't going to like it."

"So where do we go from here?" Asked Shazz as she moved in closer to Tseng

"I guess we should just take things slow and keep it quiet for now." He said as he took her hand and their fingers intertwined.

"Yeah you're right. We shouldn't rush into anything right now. Considering the circumstances."

"Of course. I have to admit Shazz, you're better at this whole relationship thing than I am."

Shazz's free hand traveled up the lapel of his jacket, grabbed a hold of his tie, and pulled it so his face would come closer to hers. "Oh you'll find out that I'm better at a lot more things than you are?"

"Oh yeah?" Tseng said with a smile as their lips began to close in on one another. Just as they were about to make contact, a bitterly cold wind blew in between them. Both of them looked at each other and Shazz started to laugh. "I uhh guess we forgot about one other person."

"Yes I suppose you're right." Tseng grinned as looked up at the sky. "I think he took us seriously when we said we would take it slow."

Shazz sighed and her eyes rolled up towards the heavens. "Fine, have it your way. Slow it is." This time Shazz hugged Tseng close to her and she melted into his strong embrace. She didn't want this moment to end and as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she heard footsteps approaching.

She groaned because she was sure it was Reno coming to take Tseng from her. When she peered around Tseng, she didn't see her annoying friend, instead a man dressed in black leather, bulky build, and gleaming silver hair was quickly coming closer.

Tseng could feel her body stiffen against his and he knew right away that something was wrong. He whipped his body around and pushed Shazz behind him. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips curled into a snarl. "Loz." He said in a low voice.

The other man snickered "Tseng, it's been awhile since we've played and I'm not sure if you're up for another round. Just hand over the girl and I won't break another set of ribs."

"You will not lay a finger on her." Tseng roared as he reached into his holster to pull out his gun

Shazz looked over Tseng's shoulder and she could see that Loz was charging his weapon. Her eyes wondered over to Tseng and his face made it clear that he was still in pain and she knew he was in no shape for a battle.

Loz launched himself towards Tseng and to Shazz it seemed like the whole thing was happening in slow motion. She could plainly see that Tseng wasn't moving fast enough to dodge the attack and the way Loz was coming at him, the hit was going to be brutal. She couldn't let him get hurt. She step out from behind him and with all that she had, she shoved Tseng out of the line of fire.

Unfortunately Shazz didn't have time to get out of the way and she could feel an intense burn as Loz's weapon came in contact with her back.

"Dammit." Loz muttered through clenched teeth as he retracted his dual hound.

Tseng picked himself off the ground and all the while he was holding on to his chest. He turned to see what happened and he found a motionless Shazz lying on the ground.

"Shazz!" His body was trembling as he looked at her "What did you do to her? You BASTARD!!!" He pointed his gun at Los and started to walk towards him when a he felt a hand grab his ankle. Tseng looked down and saw that Shazz had a hold of him. Grateful that she was still alive, he knelt down beside her and gathered her up in his arms.

The poor girl reached up and laid a hand upon his cheek. She opened her mouth to speak and Tseng leaned in closer so she wouldn't have to strain herself. "It's ok Tseng." She whispered "I'll be alright. They're not going to do anything to me…not yet. So don't risk your life needlessly. Let me go with him."

"Shazz I can't…"

She managed to left her head and she placed a kiss upon his cheek. "Please Tseng…it's the only I can do."

Tseng wanted to protest again, but something in her eyes stopped him. He swallowed back the lump in his throat "Loz." was all that he managed to get out. The brute walked up and snatched the girl out of his hands. For a brief moment the two men's eyes locked and Tseng let him know that this wasn't over.

Loz threw Shazz over his shoulder as if she was nothing but a sack of potatoes. She let out a stifled cry but she didn't really expect him to care.

Tseng silently followed Loz as the headed back to the house.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the main room as Kadaj told them that he was no longer going to wait because the time for the reunion was long since over due. He demanded that mother be returned to him immediately or things were about to turn ugly.

When Loz entered the room, all heads turned towards the young woman that was hanging on his shoulder. Rufus looked at Tseng, who had made his way to this side, and the look in his eyes told him that Shazz must have been hurt.

"Kadaj, what is the meaning of this." Shouted the president

The young vessel looked towards his brother and he shook his head in disappointment as a parent might do if their child had done something wrong. "Oh Loz what am I going to do with you? Would it kill you to play nice with others for once."

"Sorry Kadaj, she just got in the way."

Kadaj walked behind Loz and took Shazz's face into his gloved hand. She winced as he lifted her head up so he could have a better look at her. "This will never do, she's an absolute mess." He looked over at Elena and snapped his fingers at her "You! Take her and get her cleaned up."

Elena looked over at Rufus and he silently nodded his head. She walked over the Loz and helped support Shazz as he sat her down on the ground.

The two women headed upstairs to Shazz's room and when they got inside, she sat Shazz down on the bed and she went into the bathroom to get a warm washcloth. Shazz tried taking her tattered shirt off but the pain in her back made it hard for her to raise her arms above her head.

"Here, let me help." Elena gave the rag to Shazz and she gently pealed off the shirt. She looked at the wound and sigh with relief. "Well I know hurts like hell but its not as bad as it feels. It looks like he held back when he realized that he was going to hit you. The doctor gave me some salve for my burns so this should do the trick."

Elena sat behind her and started to apply the ointment. Shazz shivered a little as the cold salve came in contact with her skin, but it wasn't nearly as cold as the tone Elena was taking with her.

"If you're thinking that there is some sort of alliance going on between me and Kadaj you're wrong. He wants me dead just like everyone else."

"Oh really? You expect me to believe that even though my superior was out there to fight and you willingly took the hit instead of him. You who sides with those we fought against."

Shazz let out a sigh of frustration. She was right when she said that no one was going to like the fact that her and Tseng were a couple, but she didn't think that she would have to defend their relationship so soon. "Can't you see we are no longer enemies. We are all fighting a new and dangerous one."

Elena got up from the bed and stood in front of Shazz. "Then why? Why do something so incredibly stupid. You know Tseng could have taken him. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I didn't want to see him get hurt. For so long he has protected me and I'm sure you are well aware of that. I just couldn't let him keep getting hurt because of me."

Elena stood there stunned. She had a feeling that her superior had cared for the girl but for a long time she thought it was just one sided. She would be lying if she denied that she had some pent up animosity towards Shazz but it was hard to hold a grudge when she realized Tseng's feelings were returned.

The blonde Turk sighed heavily "Well you sitting there half naked isn't going to help us so what can I get you."

"There's a white tank in my top drawer. I figure it's loose fitting enough so it won't irritate my wound. Also, could you bring me that small box sitting on top of my dresser."

Elena gathered up the items and brought them over. She helped Shazz slip on her shirt and tied the straps into tight bows that hung on her shoulders. Meanwhile, Shazz opened the box and took out a gold necklace.

"Wait, where did you get that?" Elena asked as her eyes fell upon pendent that dangled from the chain.

Shazz peered down at the necklace that was already hanging from her neck. "Oh this? This is Zack's medal. Tseng had it made into a necklace so I could where it whenever I wanted."

The smile on Shazz's face that appeared as she looked at the medal made Elena realize that there was definitely something going on. "So this is serious…you and Tseng?"

"I know it sounds crazy Elena, but I care for him deeply and I'll take heat from both sides if it means that I can be with him."

There was a silent understanding between the two women but this moment didn't last for long. There was a pounding on the door and they heard Loz yelling at them to hurry up.

Elena helped Shazz to her feet and she was feeling sturdy enough to make it to the door on her own. As soon as she opened it, Loz grabbed her and flung her back up on his broad shoulders. Instinct told Elena to fight but Shazz shook her head no and Elena stood down. Loz sneered at her helplessness and he headed down the stairs.

He brought her over to Kadaj and he proceeded to bind her hands and legs with a leather strap. As he was tying her hands, he leaned in and whispered in her ear "I figured you wouldn't object to be being tied up, in fact, I know you've enjoyed it."

The young woman's cheeks became flushed with color. It was bad enough that Kadaj inherited Sephiroth's skills, did he also have to inherit his memory?

Kadaj turned to face the angry crowd. "You know the drill Mr. President. I'll see you in Sector 7."

As the boys in black leather turned to leave, Tseng stepped forward and yelled "Wait! Why are you taking her?"

A low maniacal laugh escaped Kadaj's lips "Did you think that I would trust you to come on your own free will without a little leverage. So you better show up on time because every hour I'm kept waiting is an hour I'm left alone with her? Just think of all the nasty things I could do her in that amount time."

Tseng lurched forward but Elena was quick to hold him back. All the while Kadaj's mocking laughter filled the room.

"Don't be late." He chuckled as him and his gang left the Lodge and slammed the door behind them.


	8. Blood and Sarcasm

Again i offer my apologizes for being so late on the update. Winter always turns a person lathargic. Ick i can't wait for warm weather!" any who my dears here is the new chapter and this one was inspired by Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell. all my love as always ^_^

* * *

Yazoo and Loz were standing upon a monument that was erected to symbolize Shinra's vast expansion and wealth. Convinced that Jenova was hidden within the statue, Kadaj had ordered his cohorts to tear it down.

The Plaza was in an uproar of angry citizens. Some were yelling at the men in black for defiling the statue while parents called out for their children to return to them. It was shameless ploy for Yazoo and Loz to use the brainwashed children to guard them, but with men with no consciences, it was and easy decision to make.

News of the chaos spread quickly and Tifa couldn't help but respond. Upon encountering the scene, she barely noticed the two men that were standing on the monument. Her vision narrowed in on the brown haired boy with eyes that glowed the same as Cloud's.

"Denzel!" She screamed as she ran towards him. "Denzel, we have to get out of here!" She grabbed the child and attempted to pick him up, but the he would budge. It was like his feet were cemented to the ground.

She pleaded with the boy one last time to go with her, but her cries were drowned out by the screaming of the crowd. She turned her head to see that monsters had been unleashed among the people and all were running in fear of their lives. She turned back to Denzel with a look of helplessness. She wrapped her arms protectively around the boy; there was no way she could leave him now.

As chaos ensued, a tall dark skinned man and a brazen red head emerged from the frightened mass. They had just dropped Rufus off at the designated location and they left to see what all the fuss was about.

The two partners spotted Yazoo and Loz on top of the monument and they pushed their way through the crowd to get a better look.

"Well well well" said Reno as he looked around "What do we have here?"

Loz looked down at him with a disgusted expression "We know mother is here."

Rude rolled he eyes, though one couldn't see them behind his dark shades "You really think so?"

"Of course, why else would Shinra build this ugly thing?" Loz responded confidently.

Mocking laughter came from the red head as he approached the monument "Oh oh, you got us there. You're just too clever."

A low gruff laugh slipped through Rude's lips. "You're so cruel my friend. Letting them believe that Jenova is here when they're obviously wrong."

"I suppose you're right big guy. To make amends I should just go ahead and tell them the real location, but sadly, I just don't know where that is." Reno laughed as he slapped his partner a five.

Loz looked like he was about to cry but Yazoo's expression was stern. He didn't appreciate his brother being mocked.

When Yazoo spoke, his words were harsh but his tone was soft and melodic. "What, Rufus's dogs weren't trusted enough to be given the location?"

The Turks looked at each other and both were at a loss for words. Reno was trying desperately to come up with a comeback, but he couldn't think of anything. The Red head's blue eyes were filled with confusion and shame because he had let Yazoo get the best of him. But Reno's emotional ADD got the best of him and his mood soon shifted to anger. He grimaced as he looked up at the two men in black.

"Only one person is allowed to talk to me like that and I'm sorry to inform you, but you're not HER!!!" With great emphasis on this last word, he charged full throttle at Yazoo.

* * *

Kadaj propped the tied up girl up against the back wall of the building.

"I know you don't want to be bound like this Shazz" Kadaj said as he positioned her legs out in front of her "But I just can't have you running off and getting yourself killed. If you do, I have nothing to look forward to." He gently stroked her cheek and Shazz shuttered underneath his touch.

Rufus was sitting in his chair near a large opening that allowed him to look over the plaza. It was clear to him that this building was under construction because they were unable to make it to the very top. He could barely hear what Kadaj was saying but he the fact that he was so close to Shazz was irritating him.

"Kadaj" Rufus shouted "I have a question for you."

The boy looked back at the president and immediately lost interest in the girl. "Oh, and I have an answer."

Rufus was less than amused by the sarcasm, but for the moment he let is slide. "You said that you need Jenova's cells to become whole again. What did you mean by that?" He could see Kadaj standing next to him out of his peripheral vision. He was laughing as he looked out over the calamity that was happening below.

"Must I spell it out for you old man? He's coming back, Sephiroth, your creation gone AWOL."

"Hmmmmm so the nightmare returns."

Kadaj turned is back on the president and his voice became very pained. "I've never known Sephiroth, but I can feel him here. Sometimes I feel that mother make like him more than me."

"Poor little remnant." Rufus said with a heartless chuckle.

Shazz's heart jumped up in her throat when she heard Rufus taunting Kadaj. She wanted to speak up but the expression on Kadaj's face made her too scared to even open her mouth.

"It doesn't matter who she picks" the silver haired boy roared "You will all meet the same fate. Mother came here to rid the planet of fools like you and for some reason you have managed to dodge her wrath. You are too damn slow to realize how lucky you are to be here and yet you've done nothing to change. So I have to do it for you. I would do anything to make Mother happy."

"That's a rather big job for someone like you to do. No wonder your _mother _as decided to bring back Sephiroth. I doubt you can handle it on your own."

"Rufus stop!" Shazz screamed from a distance. She was already worried enough about Cloud and Tseng and right now she didn't need their enemy to be provoked.

"Don't bother" Kadaj's voice went back to its silky diabolical tone "You know as well as I do that he doesn't take no for an answer." He saw a flash of pain in Rufus's eyes and that made him smile. "As long as people like him exist, the nightmares will always return."

It didn't take long for Rufus to regain his composer. "The Life Stream courses through this planet, back and forth, between life and death. If that cycle is the very truth of life, then history will inevitably repeat itself. So bring on your Jenovas, your Sephiroths, it won't matter. We will do as life dictates and stop you every time."

A deadly silence fell upon the granite platform as the two men's eyes were locked on to one another's. Shazz shifted uncomfortably and prayed that each would keep their mouths shut.

"Is that your excuse for going after mother?" Kadaj asked "You believe that history will save you? Well, it's obvious that you aren't sorry that all this is happening."

"Sorry? Why, I've never had this much fun."

A cold shiver ran up Shazz's spine as she watched Kadaj's lips curl into a wicked smile. He brushed a gloved hand over his arm and it began to emit an eerie green glow. He walked to the edge of the building and raised his hand to the sky.

"Good, let's put an end to all of this."

The clouds began to darken and they swirled into a thundering vortex. A shattering cry could be heard as a griffin like creature emerged from the clouds. Shazz felt herself shaking as she prepared herself for the worst. She prayed for the citizens of Midgar and most of all for Cloud.

* * *

As Reno and Rude rushed towards their' opponents, a huge shadow was being cast over them. They looked up and saw Bahamut soaring towards them. The creature perched itself upon the monument and thousands of Midgar residents began to flee the plaza.

The beast snarled and growled as its talons dug into the statue. This image was enough to make the Turks stop dead in their tracks.

Reno's big blue eyes stared nervously at the creature. "H…h…hello" he managed to get out through his quivering jaw.

"Holy hell!" Rude said as he stared dumbfounded at the giant beast.

They looked at each other and without a word, they both took off running. They were almost in the clear when Reno turned around to gather up the brainwashed children. The kids put up a fight and even one managed to stick his finger up Reno's nose. Surprisingly, that didn't bother him all that much and he just picked up the kid and took off again.

"Is it after us?" asked Reno as he continued to push forward.

"I don't know, why you don't ask it?!" was his partner's reply as he pulled ahead.

The creature roared and a heated blast came from his mouth. It sent the Turks flying through the air and then they hit the ground, taking most of the impact in order to protect the children.

Some how the blast had awakened the young ones and they quickly scrambled off the ground to find shelter. Reno and Rude picked themselves up and dusted off the debris that the blast had left.

A sinister chuckle came from behind them and they turned to see Yazoo and Loz standing behind them.

"Are we having fun yet?" Yazoo asked in his usual soft tone.

Reno bared a cocky grin. "Having the time of my LIFE!" he screamed as he lunged at Yazoo.

Reno's hit was easily dodged and the red head quickly retaliated with a roundhouse kick. His silver haired opponent grabbed a hold of his ankle before it connected with his face. With ease, he picked up Reno and sent him flying. He was quick to recover and lunged at Yazoo again with full force and unleashed a flurry of punches. Each blow was skillfully dodged by Yazoo and the look on his face was one of pure enjoyment.

"God, when are you guys going to call it a day?" Reno shouted in his frustration.

After dodging a right hook, Yazoo gracefully flipped himself on top of a near by scaffold. He looked down at Reno who was desperately climbing up the side of the building to get next to him.

"It will all be over when you give back mother." He taunted.

As soon as Reno made it to the top he took a swipe at Yazoo. He leapt backwards, allowing Reno to scramble on top of the scaffold.

Meanwhile, Loz and Rude were left on the ground to battle it out. Two powerful forces where hitting each other with such brutality that a normal mans bones would have been reduced to dust.

Rude threw all he had into a punch and Loz stopped his fist easily with his palm. He smiled as he squeezed the other man's hand trying to break his knuckles.

"What do you need Jenova's head for?" Rude grunted as he head butted the brute so that he would let go of his hand.

The blow knocked Loz off his stance and Rude took this moment of opportunity to send him flying. He threw out another powerful hit but Loz's vice gripped stopped him once again. Instead the force made Rude do a back bend and once Loz found his footing, he flung the Turk over his shoulders and he went soaring across the avenue and into a near by building.

Above the street, Yazoo and Reno continued to fight. Reno was slowly wearing down but Yazoo was hardly breaking a sweat.

"What is it with you?" Asked Reno as he managed to out maneuver Yazoo's attacks. "Why don't you just get a grip?"

"All we want is mother back!" Yazoo replied as he greeted the red head with a potent blow to the gut. He was sent across the scaffold and he collided with a green road sign.

Right below Reno, Rude was slowly getting up off the ground. He was badly beaten, but he wasn't about to give up. He went back into a fighting stance and waited for Loz to attack him again.

"I'm going to ask you this one last time. Where is mother?" Loz said has he prepared himself. Rude stood there in silence and this maddened the muscle head even more and he went in for the kill.

Just as he was about to make contact, a metal sign fell right on top of Rude. He rolled out from underneath the green scrap and just when he thought he was in the clear, Reno came hurling out of the sky and landed on him as well.

Yazoo floated gracefully to the ground and stood next to Loz. They both smiled at the site of Reno and Rude lying dazed on top of each other.

The red head slowly pulled himself off his partner and while he was getting up, he accidentally stepped on Rude's sunglasses. Rude's heart seemed to shatter right along with the broken frames and for a brief moment, he lost himself. He glared up angrily at his partner and was about to whap him upside the head when he remembered he kept a spare pair in his jacket pocket.

Reno dusted off his sleeves and continued to heedlessly straighten out his appearance. "God Dammit you guys. It's just a friggen head. How motherly can that possibly be?"

"I will not have you refer to Mother that way." said Yazoo in an androgynous tone.

"Yeah!" a teary eyed Loz retorted "You guys are mean!"

Reno looked at Rude with a confused glare. There was this unspoken revelation between them that Yazoo and Loz were truly connected to Jenova. It wasn't some sick fantasy, these boys cared for the calamity.

Rude calmly put back on his shades. "Our apologizes." he said as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, you're mom's cool." Reno replied with a slight smile. He turned to walk away when he realized what had just happened. Why did he care that they were attached to a head? "Ahhhhh what the hell am I SAYING!!"

The Turks launched themselves back at Yazoo and Loz. The two parties continued to beat on one another as things started to get worse in the Plaza. Time would only tell what would happen now that the beast was left to his own devices.


	9. Comrades

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this chapter. In these few weeks of February, I lost my grandmother to cancer, my best friend's uncle was murdered, and another close friend of mine is in the hospital in coma. It's been rough and due to a sudden bought of depression i haven't kept up with my story. But i promise to make up for it soon my loves. Please enjoy the latest instalment that was inspired by "Save Me" by Lovex

* * *

Denzel groggily picked himself up from the after shock of the blast. He rubbed the haziness out of his eyes that had finally returned to normal. The boy looked at his surroundings and his gaze fell upon Tifa who was lying on the ground.

"Tifa!" He cried as he bent down to shake what little family he had left "Tifa!" He shook her harder this time but she wasn't even stirring.

Denzel stood up and starred vehemently at the beast. His hands balled into a fist tightly by his side and his fragile body shook with rage. "You son of a bitch!" He roared as he took of running towards the creature. The sound of the boy's pained voice woke Tifa up immediately, but it was too late. Denzel was to far gone out of her reach.

"Denzel!" She shouted in hopes that her voice would draw the boy back to her, but he couldn't hear her over the roar of the crowd. She closed her eyes and prayed that no harm would come to the boy. She braced herself for the worse, but she heard nothing that would indicate that the child could be injured. Slowly she opened her eyes and noticed a dark beefy man with corn rolls and a wicked gun attached to his hand. He had a hold of Denzel and was forcing him to withdrawal from his campaign of revenge.

"You go and take care of mama" the man's voice boomed as he spoke. "Leave ugly over there to me."

Tifa managed to pull herself up to her feet even though she still felt a bit unstable. "Barret?!"

I pair of deep chocolate eyes looked over at her and he curled his lip into a half smile "Marlene better be safe." He yelled as he prepared his gun. With a thunderous battle cry, he rushed in head first into battle with the beast.

As Barret was running, he noticed a blur of red fur rush past him. He stopped for a moment to get a better look and his fearless smile widened as he recognized his comrade Red XIII and upon his back was the sassy tabby Cait Sith. "Hey! Glad you could make it to the show!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Replied the crimson feline.

The two friends split off in opposite directions to attack on different fronts. All of sudden and four bladed shuriken came soaring through the sky and is scrapped across the beast's rough skin. The weapon came whirling back to a spunky petite girl who was parachuting to the ground.

She caught the shuriken with ease and turned to smile at Tifa, although she did take a brief moment to get her air sickness under control. She bounce back rather quickly and immediately put her battle face on.

"Alright, whose been stealing my materia?" came a high pitched eager voice.

Tifa laughed and was glad to know that Yuffie hadn't changed "The bad guys. Who else?"

"They'll be sorry!" She barked as he took off towards the battle.

Tifa watched as Yuffie breezed past a tall man in blue with a scruffy beard and pilot goggles upon his head. His straw colored hair illuminated that man's smile.

"Hey Tifa, take a look up there" came Cid's saucy southern droll. The dark haired beauty looked up to the skies and noticed a behemoth of a ship hovering above her. "Ain't she a beaut! My Shera , she's the latest model. I'll give y'all the grand tour later." He gave the girl a salute and took off to join the rest of the gang.

Denzel was standing next to Tifa and he was confused by what was happening. He had no idea who these people were or why they were helping.

"Do you know where I can buy a phone?"

This eerie sounding voice popped out of nowhere and it made Denzel to a three sixty. He gasped when he saw a man with ghostly white skin and bloody red eyes. The boy's silence indicated that he didn't have an answer so Vincent just floated past him to join the fight.

"W…w…who was that?" stammered Denzel

"They are our friends." She said with hope sprinkled in her voice. Suddenly she heard the sound of a motorbike vastly approaching. Her heart began to race. It seemed too good to be true. First old comrades came to lend a hand and now Cloud was coming to fight as well.

Cloud pulled up next to Tifa and quickly got off his ride. "Marlene is safe at home. He said as he took his sword out from the bike's compartment.

"Oh…" Tifa was still in a little shock "Are you sure you're ok to…"

"I feel lighter Tifa. Somewhere in my hesitation, I seemed to have lost some weight."

Tifa smiled right along with Denzel.

"I'm going to go home to check in on Marlene" He took of running the direction for the bar but something stopped him. He turned around to look at Cloud. "We'll see you there, won't we Cloud?"

Cloud nodded his head and that made Denzel's smile even brighter. The boy took of running again and Cloud trudged in the opposite direction to join his comrades in battle.

* * *

"Well well well, it looks like brother has come to join the fight after all?" Kadaj said as he continued to be amused by the chaos happening below him. " I think its time that we made things a bit more interesting."

Kadaj's arm began to glow as the held it out to the sky. Shazz might now have known a lot about materia but Zack did teach her a little. She figured Kadaj was casting a spell upon the creature to make it more powerful. She also concluded that the need to make his summon stronger was because a new threat had come into the picture. There was no doubt in her mind that Cloud had come to fight. It was now her chance to help him. She couldn't do much, but at least she could make sure that her friend would have the upper hand.

"Kadaj, aren't you forgetting about something?" She shouted from across the room.

Rufus shot her a questionable glare. The last thing he wanted for her to do something irrational. Kadaj on the other hand withdrew his arm from the sky and turned to look at her. "Excuse me?" he said with a rather calm tone

Shazz swallowed back her fear and locked onto to green eyes "Is that all you can do Kadaj? Talk? I mean for sometime now all you've been telling me is how much you want me to witness the downfall of humanity but yet here I sit. I've been completely ignored and have yet to see a damn thing!"

Rufus looked at the boy to gauge his reaction. He feared that Shazz may have shortened her life, but surprisingly, Kadaj's lips curled up into a foreboding smile, but this expression brought no comfort as well.

"My my" he exclaimed as he sauntered over to the young woman "Would you check out the mouth of this one." He drew his sword and its image sparkled in Shazz's frightened eyes. With in a blink of in eye, Kadaj now stood next her and she could feel the cold steel of blade being pressed under her chin.

Her body was trembling but she tried her best to hide it. The boy's eyes were burning into hers and even though she wanted to look away. The edge of his sword kept her from doing so.

"That's enough!" Forewarned the president, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

"Quiet old man." Said Kadaj and his tone was as smooth as black silk "Can't you see that I'm trying to help the poor girl." Slowly he started to trace his blade down Shazz's body. "She's right you know. I'd forgotten her and for that, I must make amends.

Kadaj raised his sword slightly and Shazz closed her eyes. She braced her self for the inevitable pain that he would inflict upon her. A light breeze brushed past her as he swung his sword, but nothing happened.

Timidly she opened her eyes to find that the leather strap that bound her feet had been cut away.

The silver haired vessel fell to his knees and Shazz couldn't help but let out a surprised gasp. The look on his face was carnivorous and his eyes shone with a darkness that made her heart beat race. "To show you how sorry I am" he whispered as a gloved hand slithered up her inner thigh. "I'll give you the pleasure of feeling him inside you one last time."

Gradually he parted her legs and slipped in between them. In a knee jerk reaction, Shazz pulled away from him but he grabbed a hold of her bound hands and pinned them above her head. She could see his lips were coming closer and she could feel his icy breath upon her skin.

"Wait!" she shouted

He pulled back and looked at her curiously "Oh, is there a problem?"

"No…it's just…if I do this…will you promise to leave this fight to Cloud?"

Kadaj laughed as he reached out to caress her face. "Are you so desperate to protect that trash that you would offer yourself?"

"I've done worse." Shazz piteous brown eyes shifted over to Rufus and Kadaj was quick to notice.

"Mr. President?" He said through mocking laughter "Dipping you pen in company ink is never a good idea. However," he grabbed underneath Shazz's and roughly turned her head so that she would look at him. "You can watch if you like. This may be the only chance you'll have to see her face when she cums."

Shazz's cheeks were flushed as Kadaj's words embarrassed her. "K…Kadaj…what about Cloud? Promise me you'll…"

"I'd rather not have you thinking about my brother at this moment." he said as he loosened one of the laces that held up her shirt. "Consider yourself a distraction so that my wrath isn't focused on that man."

Shazz took a deep breath and cocked her head to the side, giving Kadaj full access to her exposed shoulder. She shuttered as he pressed his lips to the crook of her.

Rufus watched as Shazz's eyes became listless and a tear slowly ran down her cheek. It was like she had given up and was allowing Kadaj to have his way if it meant that the fighting would stop. Her expression was burning a hole in him. It was the same look she had give him the night he…

No, he wasn't going to let her go through the same thing all over again. It was time he stepped up and did something redeemable in her eyes. She may never love him again, but he'd settle for her forgiveness.

Out of the corner of her eye, the young woman caught the fluttering of white sheets. Slowly her eyes floated in Rufus's direction and what she saw almost caused her eyes to pop out of her head.

Rufus was standing in front of his chair and his eyes were in a dead lock upon hers. He threw off the sheets and in the midst of the flowing cloth, she saw him mouth the words "Run!"

* * *

Meanwhile the war still raged on below between man and beast. Barret had taken on the role as the leader and he went in headstrong against the creature. Everyone swarmed around the beast but kept a careful distance. Barret was becoming dangerously close. Bahamut reared his head and knocked down a scaffolding and a large chunk of building came crashing down on Barret. Within seconds he felt someone pull him out of the way and a thunderous noise echoed throughout the plaza as the large rock shattered on the ground.

Barret looked up at his rescuer and a cheesy grin spread across his face. "My god Spiky, where the hell have you been?"

Cloud returned the smile and in the same cocky tone replied "Less talk, more action my friend."

Barret let out a hardy laugh "Lead on of fearless leader!"

And just like that, everyone fell into sync with each other. It had been years since they had been in a battle, but they still fought with the same vigor and precision that they had back then. The constant attack from Yuffie, Barret, Tifa, Cid, Cloud, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Vincent were wearing the best down. To gain the advantage, Bahamut took the skies.

Cloud launched himself off the ground with tremendous momentum. Higher and higher he flew and when he started to lose speed, a strong hand reached out and grabbed his.

"Allyoop!" Barret called out as he tossed Cloud higher into the air. The blonde slashed at the beast and the friction of the blade on its skin stunted his ascent. Before he fell any further, he felt a wooden staff beneath his feet.

"Giddy up boy!" Snickered Cid as he flung Cloud back into the air. He landed another blow that allowed him to propel himself further. Red XII stood by and waited for Cloud to approach. When he was in range, the big cat latched his teeth on to his clothes and with a flip of his neck, he sent Cloud soaring with greater velocity.

Bahamut was still a little bit out of reach and this caused Shazz to reach out of the hand out to Yuffie whose eyes sparkled with mischief and determination.

"Get back my materia!" She shouted as she threw him further up into the sky. This allowed Cloud to slash at the creature a couple more times before he lost his momentum. Vincent took a hold of his hand and with his preternatural strength, he was able to help Cloud close the gap between him and the beast.

It was clear to everyone that Bahamut and Cloud were no longer earthly bound. Further and further Cloud ascended into the heavens and a warm nostalgic feeling began to wash over him. The same pure white light embraced him and a familiar hand held onto his. He looked up to see a pair of perfect blue eyes and whisper as sweet as the summer breeze whizzed past his ear.

__

"Cloud, my heart, embrace your dreams."

Bahamut had now stored a dangerous amount of energy and unleashed a blazing azure flame with an unprecedented amount of force. The simple act of being able to touch Zack's skin gave Cloud the courage and strength to cut through the blast. He flew towards the creature and managed to penetrate the beast's skull with his sword. He started to run along the creature's back, cutting it from stem to stern. In a quick flash of lightening, the creature let out a severe cry of pain before it disintegrated into thin air.

Cloud floated to the ground and Tifa was quick to stand by his side. She touched his shoulder and pointed in the direction of a certain building top. "Cloud something is going on in that building? I have no idea who they are but I do see two figures standing up there?"

Cloud squinted as he tired to make out the two figures and then he clenched his teeth when he realized who was standing near the building's edge. "Rufus" came a low and gritty reply from the blonde. Cloud rushed over to his bike and put the sword back in its holding compartment. Tifa tried to yell at him to wait up but her voice was drowned out by the roar of his engine. Cloud took off like a bullet towards the building.

__


	10. Come Hell or High Water

yay i posted something on time lol! hooray for being on time! and hooray for spring! I can't tell you how excited i am that spring is almost here! Enjoy the warmer weather my loves! Go outside and frolic among the flowers and skip down the streets, just be sure you're wearing pants. ^_^ anywho i'll let you get to the story. This chapter was inspired by the song "Resistance" by Muse

* * *

Kadaj felt a sudden breeze as Rufus ripped the linen away from himself. The boy turned his head to see what the commotion was all about and when his eyes caught sight of the black capsule, he forgot about everyone and everything thing that was in that area.

"Mother!" Kadaj said with hushed tone as he left Shazz's side and walked slowly towards Rufus. His body could feel the energy of Jenova's cells and his limbs only reacted to her call. Any sane thought, no matter how small, had completely disappeared.

Shazz scrambled to her feet the best she can. It was hard to do when one's hands is were still tied but Rufus had warned her to run and now wasn't the time to dwell on misfortunes. Her legs were like rubber beneath her as she continued to stare at Rufus. He had this sarcastic grin on his face has his hand held tightly to the capsule.

"A good son would have known." His tone was had a dangerous calm to it as he taunted the frantic boy. If one would blink their eyes, they would have missed the shift in Rufus eyes has they looked at Shazz. In the brief moment, his blue orbs yelled _"Run Shazz! Run now!" _Without warning, Rufus threw the capsule off the building.

Shazz dashed towards a pale steal store that lead towards a staircase. A cry of terror and pain ripped through Kadaj and this made Shazz pick up the pace. She swung the door open and started to run down the stairs as fast as she could.

Kadaj in all his anguish unleashed a fire attack straight at Rufus. In en effort to dodge it, he threw himself over the edge. As he started to fall, Rufus produced a gun from under his sleeve and began to fire wildly at the boy who had jumped off in pursuit of the capsule. Kadaj tightened his arms to his side to make himself more aerodynamic and he managed to free fall past Rufus.

The president quickly maneuvered his body and continued to shoot. One lucky shot managed to knick the black container and green liquid started to seep out. The commotion from the building top caused Reno and Rude to stop their fight with Kadaj's subordinates. The two Turks looked up in panic as they saw Rufus falling to the ground and they immediately took off towards the building.

When they arrived, they were relieved to see that Tseng and Elena had sent out a safety net to catch the president. Reno and Rude rushed to their comrade's sides but as they approached, a large explosion went off inside the building. A wave of heat passed over them and they held up their arms to shield their eyes from falling debris.

"SIR!" Reno shouted "Are you alright?"

"Never better." Came the president's reply as he pulled himself up in to a sitting position. "Now, if you wouldn't mind getting me down from here."

"Right away Sir." The two partners said in unison as they rushed to aid Tseng and Elena. However, Tseng's mind wasn't on helping the president as he climbed down from his perch from a near by building. He kept starring at the entrance of the other structure, praying Shazz would make it out.

A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his trance. He looked down and saw the sympathetic gaze of Elena's. "It's ok Sir. Take Reno and go look for her. Rude and I can handle things from here."

"Thank you." He whispered as he laid a hand upon hers. She nodded her and turned to face her other comrades.

"Reno, you're going with Tseng to look for Shazz."

"Aye aye captain." He stated as he followed Tseng into the burning building.

* * *

Cloud threw his bike into full throttle when he heard the sound of the explosion. He saw Kadaj land on the ground and he was clutching something tightly to him.

Kadaj heard the sound of the approaching motorbike and he quickly took off to get his. With the capsule safely tucked under his arm, he turned his ignition and sped away into the crowd. Cloud tore off recklessly through the throng of people that still lingered in the plaza. He managed to weave in and out of them and soon he and Kadaj had made it to an empty highway.

The silver haired boy could feel Cloud quickly approaching and for the first time since he had arrived, the taste of fear lingered on his tongue. He would not let Cloud get a hold of mother, not when he finally held her in his arms.

Cloud was just about to catch up with Kadaj, when a bullet whizzed past his ear. He turned his head to see Yazoo and Loz were hot on his trail. He quickly pulled out his sword and prepared to defend himself.

Yazoo rammed the back of his bike making Cloud lose control of his bike momentarily. The gun fire came rapidly so he held his sword in front of him to deflect the bullets. Loz took this time to pull up beside Cloud and rammed the side of his bike.

Cloud whipped his motorcycle around and slashed at the silver haired demons. As he swung his weapon, the natural light of the sun was being blocked out by the eerie glow of florescent lights as they entered in to a tunnel.

Loz and Yazoo pulled ahead and were riding dangerously close to one another. Loz charged up his weapon and jumped on to the back of his brother's bike. With surprising dexterity, the muscle head bent his body low to the ground and smashed his weapon into the concrete. The energy that flowed from his arm sent Loz's bike hurling towards Cloud.

The spiky haired boy stood up and launched himself off the seat of his bike. With ample skill, Cloud managed to twist his body to avoid the bullets that were still being shot at him. He raised his sword and with one mighty swing, he sliced through Loz's bike as if it were a thin piece of paper.

Gasoline flooded the street and sparks from the broken bike skidding along the pavement ignited the gas and sent the tunnel up in a blaze. The Explosion had knocked Loz back and Yazoo swerved to make sure his brother landed back on the bike. This allowed Cloud to gain a respectable distance from Kadaj's minions but he didn't let go of the fact that they would continue to follow him.

* * *

Shazz started to slowly come back to her senses. She knew she was lying on steady ground, but at the same time, she felt like she was lying on nothing at all. A since of warmth and security was tucked in around her and the sweet smell of flowers filled the air. She felt a nostalgic feeling flow through her and even though she felt her eyes trying to open, she wanted to keep them closed for fear that this was all just a dream.

She did her best to not wake up, but a hand was wrapping itself around hers and she had no choice but to open her eyes. A beautiful white light flooded her vision and everything in this vacant room glittered with a brilliance of a thousand stars.

Shazz turned her head and what she saw next was much more breath taking than any other heavenly body in the universe. A pair of shimmering blue eyes were smiling back at her.

"Zack!?" she whispered as tears weld up in her eyes and a smile formed on her lips

It was true, Zack was lying next to her and his hand was holding her hand. The sensation was too much for her to bear and her tears flowed without remorse down her face.

"Hey now, what have I told you about crying?" he said as he reached over and brushed away her tears.

"I know I know. That's why this smile is for you. These tears are just because I don't want to be dead yet."

Zack chuckled and pulled his dear friend closer. The two laid in each other arms the same way they did the night before he left for Nibelheim. Her head was upon his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her.

"Don't worry Shazzberry, you're not dead."

"Then why am I here?" She said through her sniffles.

"Because this was the only time you've been in a deep enough rest for me to come and visit you."

Shazz's fingers kneaded the material of Zack's shirt and the smell of lilies filled her nostrils. "Zack, I've missed you so much…" It looked like she was going to say something else but she hesitated.

"But?" Said Zack, finishing her sentence.

"I can't stay here. I have to go help Cloud."

"Don't you think you've done enough? I mean look at where you are sweetheart. People just don't come to purgatory for fun. You're last endeavor left you unconscious."

Shazz propped herself up and looked at Zack with a confused glare. "So do you just want me to give up?"

The dark haired man only smiled and brushed away the stray hair that hung in Shazz's face. "I'm not asking you to do that. I'm asking you to let me back in. Don't you remember? You begged me to leave you to help Cloud and the moment I let you out of my sight, you almost blow yourself up."

"But it helped Cloud didn't it? He's fighting and standing on his own two feet. Doesn't that make it all worth it?"

"Not if the price is your life Shazz."

For the first time Zack had left her completely speechless. She let out a frustrated sigh and laid her head back down upon his chest. "I can't believe you would only appear before me to give me a lecture."

"Well…" Zack's nose crinkled as he pondered what to say next "I guess since I didn't get the chance to in my lifetime, I thought I'd get a better shot in the next."

Though the joke was tasteless, Shazz couldn't help but laugh as she nuzzled in closer to her friend. "Ok ok Zack, you win."

The two laid there in a comfortable silence for awhile. They enjoyed the time that was given to them to hold on to each other and even though Shazz was grateful to have Zack back in her arms, she couldn't help but wonder when she was going back.

Zack could feel her nervousness and he started to run his fingers through her hair. "Are you that anxious to leave me?"

"Its not that I'm anxious, it's just, I thought since I'm not dead I shouldn't be staying here this long." Shazz sat up next to her friend and flashed him a mischievous smile. "And besides, I'm really not ready to spend eternity with you yet."

"And we're back to square one." He sat up, gathered her back in his arms, and squeezed her tightly. Both of them laughed liked they used too and it was nice to be able to do that again. Slowly he let her go and his famous "Zack Fair smile" was plastered on his lips "You couldn't let me have just one could you?"

__

"Shazz…come on…please…wake up"

The young woman looked around the room to find where the echoing voice was coming from. "Zack, what was that?"

"I think that's the world calling you back?"

"Oh I see. The way of getting back to the planet is to set things back to where they're supposed to be. All is right with the world when I'm winning Zack."

Shazz was expecting him to get upset, but instead he gently held her face in his hands, pulled her close, and kissed her forehead. "All is right with the world as long as you are in it. Promise me you'll keep yourself out of trouble."

"I don't think I can promise you that" she said as she tangled her hands in raven hair and returned the kiss, "All I can promise you is that I'll be sure to look out for Cloud."

__

"Pleas open your eyes Shazz! Come on! You're stronger than this! Come back to me"

Shazz could feel herself being pulled away and she quickly threw her arms around his neck "I love you Zack. Forever and always." She whispered as tears started to flow again.

"I love you sweetheart. Please, at least do me this one favor…" he whispered something in her ear and in burst of brilliant white light, she was no longer in the arms of her beloved friend.

* * *

Shazz's eyes snapped open to cloudy skies and skyscrapers. Every cut and every bruise that she didn't feel when she was with Zack was now hitting her ten fold. She started coughing violently as the smoke from the explosion still filled her lungs.

"Shazz, are you ok? I was so worried." Shazz looked up and a pair of concerned grey eyes were looking down at her. She felt his arms wrapped safely around her and despite her discomfort, she smiled.

"I saw him Tseng, my Zack." She reached up and she laid a frail hand upon his cheek. "He said it wasn't my time. You shouldn't worry so much."

Tseng let out sigh and flashed a slight smile. Even though she looked like she had been through hell, there was a certain glow in her eyes that made him believe that she had been with her friend. "I'm glad for that Shazz."

Shazz pushed her self to sit up and let out a little cry as pain shot through her body again.

"You shouldn't push yourself, just rest awhile."

"No, I'll be ok. Please just help me up." Tseng helped to pull herself up on her feet. She wobbled a bit but her pride made her try all the more to stand steadily.

"Shazz, things are becoming way more dangerous. Come, let me take you home and…"

She took a step away from him as he reached out to take her hand. "I'm sorry Tseng, but I'm not going anywhere."

For a moment he was startled by her reaction, but he quickly brushed it off. Maybe she had hit her head harder than he thought. "Come on Shazz, it's only for your safe…"

"No, I'm not leaving without Cloud!"

"Out of the question! Cloud has gone after Kadaj and there is no reason for you to go after him."

"I have every reason. Cloud is in the fight of his life and you're asking me to run away? I can't do that!"

Shazz's defiance was starting to eat away from him. He knew it might sound selfish but he thought he had lost her and he wasn't about to let that happen again, even it meant taking her out of the fight to protect her friend. "Shazz, this is not a request! I mean will you look at yourself?! You have scratches everywhere, bruises upon bruises, and not to mention the fact that you nearly died! You're in no shape to do anything!"

His words stung her a little. Of all people she thought he would understand her need to help Cloud. "Please Tseng, if you come with me then…"

"No, this discussion is over. Reno!" He yelled and in a few minutes the red head came running.

His sky blue eyes locked on to Shazz and he smiled "Hey, you're awake!"

"Reno," the tone of Tseng's voice made him change his joyful demeanor "Stay here and keep an eye on Shazz. I'm going to get the president and we will be taking off here shortly."

"Ok but Tseng…" but that was all that he was able to get out before his superior walked away from him. He turned to scowl at Shazz. "Great, I'm stuck on babysitting duty again."

"Do you think I wanted this?" she fired back "I don't need anyone to watch over me but Tseng can't seem to just leave me alone."

"Well duh Shazz, that man loves you! He was practically tearing the place apart trying to find and when you saw you buried underneath a pile of rubble I thought he was going to lose it. I'm not mad because he wants to keep you safe, I'm mad that he let his emotions get in the way of the plan. I should be on my way to blow up an overpass right now!"

Shazz stood there dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that Reno had figured out that Tseng had feelings for her considering Tseng wasn't the type to open up like that. But she put that thought aside and focused on something more important. It was apparent that she and Reno didn't want to be standing here.

Now Shazz wasn't completely disregarding Tseng's feelings. She loved him too, but her loyalty to Cloud ran much deeper. With all of her heart she believed that Cloud could win if he knew she was there by his side and it was a feeling she was not ready to relinquish.

"Hey Reno, maybe you and I could help each other?"

"Oh no little miss devil with a halo. I'm not going to risk going against his orders so that means your ass is staying put."

Shazz was infuriated and she reached out and grabbed the collar of Reno's shirt. She pulled him close and the Turk couldn't help but be a little scared when he came face to face with raging brown eyes.

"Listen Red!" She hissed as she squeezed his cotton shirt a little tighter "I want to help Cloud and you want to blow shit up. The way I see it, none of us are going to get what we want unless we work together. Now get me out of here or I swear to god you will never set another fire again because I'll see to it that you remain by my side for the rest of your life."


	11. Why Should We Wait

Yay time for another chapter! oh the weather has been a bit rainy and depressing lately so its made me quite lazy and i've had this chapter written a week before but it took me this long to post it...oh the shame :( Well i'm posting it now so please do enjoy This chapter was inspired by "Maybe Tomorrow is a Better day" by Poets of the fall

* * *

Tseng stood next to the partially blown up building and was looking at an empty where he had left Shazz. A feeling of anxiety boiled in the pit of his stomach and his mind wondered over the possibilities as to where she might be.

He turned around and ran back to the Plaza where Reno had parked the helicopter. The knot in his stomach fully unraveled into a full blown panic attack. The helicopter was gone and he was fairly certain that Shazz managed to convince or even threaten Reno to take her along

"Hey Tseng are you ready to…" Elena stopped in mid sentence as she noticed the missing aircraft. "Oh no...Tseng you don't think…"

"Of course she did." he said had she ran his fingers through his jet black hair in frustration. "Elena, take Rufus back to the lodge. I have to go get her." She nodded her and went back to tend to the president.

Now, it wasn't a question of where she was. It was easy enough to figure out that she would be at the overpass. It was more of how he was going to get there. By the time he arrived on his motor bike it would be to late. The overpass would be blown sky high by then. The thought had crossed his mind that Reno would be responsible enough the take care of her, but with the distraction of fire and destruction, there was no way he would pay any attention to her. He also knew Shazz and any chance she got to run, she would.

As he stood in the Plaza, a gust of wind sent up a cloud of dust in his direction. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from flying particles and the sound of turbines, gears, and propellers was coming closer. He slightly opened his eyes to see a massive air ship land in the open area. He looked over and recognized the people that were gathering to get on board. It was a long shot but he didn't really have any other options. He needed to ask for help.

It walked towards the ship as the clanking and grinding of gears opened and huge door. It almost looked like the jaws of a metal beast were opening to swallow them all whole. Cid Walked out of unto the platform and yelled for everyone to get on. He stood there grinning like a proud papa "See, I told y'all she was something. C'mon now get on up here, times a wastin"

Tseng wait until the whole group had boarded before he made his move to talk to Cid. It was safer to talk too just one than to the lot of them.

Cid noticed Tseng coming towards him and his lips curled into a snarl "What do you want?"

"Please, if you're going to Cloud I could really use your help."

"Forget it! This battle ain't for suits."

"I don't care about the battle; the fight is all yours for all I care. I have something more important to do."

A temper was boiling inside Cid as Tseng continued to walk further inside his ship. With lightening like speed, the old air captain reached out and grabbed the Turk by the collar of this shirt and squeezed it tightly. "This ain't about the fighting boy. We've got to protect our own."

Tseng latched unto the man's arm and pushed it away from himself. "You think you're the only one with someone to protect?! If you're so worried about Cloud then I suggest you help me out. I can promise you that if anything happens to her there will be no pulling him back from the edge he is standing on."

Tifa was listening in the background. She came down initially to ask Cid what was taking so long, but she never expected to see Tseng trying to get on the aircraft. Her mind was racing as she tried to remember who the "her" was that Tseng was talking about.

"What in the hell are you talking about? Get out of my ship!!" Cid screamed as he approached the Turk, ready to shove him out the door.

Tseng was not about to leave. He stepped further inside and this made Cid lose what little patience he had. Cid was on his guard and was about to throw a powerful punch at Tseng when her felt a hand on his Shoulder.

"Wait!" Tifa yelled as she positioned herself in between the men. Both of them looked at her curiously. They couldn't tell who side she was on. Her large questioning brown eyes looked up at Tseng and in a meek voice she asked "She…I mean…Shazz…is she really…alive?"

Tseng was overwhelmed with a feeling of relief and apprehension. He couldn't quite gage if Tifa knowing about Shazz was at good or bad thing at this point. "How do you know her?"

"I know of her" She said as he gave Cid a gentle pat on his shoulder to let him know that it was ok. The gruff man gave a disapproving grunt as he walked back into the ship.

She turned back to Tseng and her lips were pressed tightly together. She was contemplating on what she was going to say next. "I…didn't know…her personally but I kind of felt like I did. Cloud never called or wrote home without mentioning Zack or Shazz and he would tell me how he had found a family with them at Shinra." Her expression suddenly became sullen as she looked down at her feet. "When Zack died, Cloud had completely fallen apart and he disregarded his own reality in order to repress all that sorrow and regret. I thought that maybe if we could find Shazz that she would be our last hope to snap him out of it, but we never found her. When we arrived at Shinra all those years ago, I remember standing outside of Rufus's office and watched Cloud stare at this desk for what seemed like hours. All of a sudden he started to frantically search through the drawers and file cabinets and I knew this must have been her desk. Unfortunately, he had found nothing and I could feel that last glimmer of hope fade away from him. From that moment on, I just assumed she was dead."

She stopped herself from talking because she could feel herself becoming a bit to emotional. Shazz being alive and this close was too good to be true. Her return meant that the spark in Cloud would once again ignite and she would have her friend back, "Please Tseng, be honest with me. Is she really alive and here in Midgar and does he even know?"

"Cloud has known for sometime now. Didn't he tell you?"

"He never really tells me anything anymore. I think he fears he will jinx it if he gets his hopes up."

As much as Tseng was relieved to hear that Tifa knew Shazz, he really didn't have the time to stand and reminisce about the past. "Tifa, I know you want to see Cloud happy again and that is why I need your help. Shazz has gone after him and she is dead set on being there by his side. If anything happens to her…" this time Tseng had to catch himself because he felt like his voice was about to crack "…in front of Cloud, I fear that he…"

"Say no more, of course we'll help."

* * *

Shazz was silently sitting in the back of the helicopter as Reno and Rude piloted it towards the overpass. Besides the pulsating hum of the propellers, there was only silence within the hull. Everyone felt that something big was about to happen and neither wanted to talk about it.

"Shazz" Reno was the first to break the silence "I know you're not going to listen to me but to make sure that my own ass is covered, I'm going to say it anyway. Please don't do anything stupid ok. Just stay in the helicopter until we are finished."

Shazz didn't respond and he figured as much, but what happened next really surprised the hell out of him. He felt a pair of arms gently wrap around his neck and she rested her head upon his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Reno for all the trouble I caused you." she whispered into his ear. "Thank you…for everything."

Reno's jaw dropped and once again she had left him without words. She looked over at Rude and even Shazz embraced him and thanked him as well. The two men were sort of scared because they believed that Shazz was actually being sincere.

She went back to sitting quietly in the back and Reno and Rude were still looking at each other dumbfounded. Reno looked like he was trying to say something but he was quickly interrupted by Rude.

There's the overpass" he said in a deep tone as he pointed out the window

"Oh…uh…right" he turned the copter around and diligently landed on the road and allowed enough room for someone to pass on by.

Rude got out and walked over to the back where Shazz was holding two explosive devices in her hand "Here" she said as she handed them off to the dark colored man "Good luck" she said with a smile.

With a simple nod of his head, he took the loaded devices and walked over to Reno and handed one over to him. "Here you are"

Reno took a moment to study the makeshift bomb and looked back at his partner "So uhh, does this thing have any bite to it?"

"Shinra technology at it's finest."

"Oh so you made this?"

For the first time since that battle started a smile spread across Rude's lips "If nothing else, it's flashy."

The red head let out a chuckle and his blue eyes glittered with excitement "Oh oh oh good. I can't wait." He then let out a sigh and looked out towards the open road. "She's not going to stay in that copter is she?"

"Not a chance."

Shazz sat down in the helicopter and let her legs dangle over the side. She wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around her until she heard the sound of approaching motorcycles. She immediately got up on her feet and held her breath.

She could make out the figures as the started to come in closer. She first noticed the gleam coming off of silver hair and her heart began to race. She was scared that he would try and do something to either Rude or Reno as he approached, but he just whizzed right past them as if they were nothing. Shazz figured that his mother was more important at this point than anything else.

Cloud wasn't far behind. Shazz could recognize that spiky blonde hair from anywhere. Her heart was beating faster the closer he came. Even though the engine of his bike roared louder than any jungle cat, all she could hear was her own breathing as she watched Cloud zoom right past her. His speed caused the wind to swirl around her and it almost knocked her off her feet. Her whole body shook with anticipation as she watched him drive further away from her. She had to be by his side come what may. She put one foot in front of the other and before she could fully come up with a plan of action, she was racing off towards Cloud.

Meanwhile, Reno and Rude were waiting to surprise their old friends. They heard another motorbike approaching from a distance and Reno smiled wickedly. Yazoo could see the Turks up ahead and his hands clenched the handle bars so tightly that his knuckles hurt.

The two lit the fuses of their bombs and threw them towards the approaching bike. They turned around and quickly ran back to the helicopter. They wasted no time in getting the propellers going because they knew there was no window for error. If they didn't get off the overpass in time they would have been blown to kingdom come.

"There goes Shazz." Rude pointed out as they started to lift off the ground.

"Well if she survived one explosion, what's one more gonna hurt."

Within seconds the bombs went off and a delicious display of flames and fireworks let up the skies. The blast send the helicopter spinning out of control and it took Reno all his strength and skill to get it back under control. They looked down over the crumbling bridge and watched as Yazoo and Loz were swallowed up by a fiery hell. They were pleased to see that they were able to put a stop to Kadaj's minions, but a thick cloud of black smoke covered the whole area. It was impossible to see what happened to Cloud and Kadaj. Worst of all, they had no idea what had happened to Shazz.


	12. Had To Let You Know

OMG i want the weather to make up it's freaking mind!! Don't get me wrong i love spring but that also that means allergies and they have hit me like a ton of bricks. I just have been feeling awful this past week but i pushed through it because my dedication to you, my readers, is tremedous. So with snot rag in hand i present to you the next Chapter inspired by "Who would have thought" by Darren Hayes

* * *

Clouded landed hard on the ground and how he managed to stay upon is bike was a miracle within itself. He was not expecting Reno and Rude to help him and even though he was relieved to have Loz and Yazoo off his back, he couldn't help but that they might have gone overboard.

He dismounted and laid his bike on the ground. He looked around him and recognized the elegant stained glass wind that remained untouched upon the dilapidated church. The familiarity of the place had an effect on his Geostigma because an acute pain shot through is arm. He looked down at his sleeve which was tattered and torn by the explosion. The black ooze had soaked the cloth and he could see his infection was still festering.

Cloud ripped the sleeve off and for the first time he actually got a good look at his arm. The site of his decaying flesh sent a wave of nausea through is body. He couldn't believe he had allowed to spread this badly.

Suddenly, a shrill cry of agony broke him out of his thoughts. He rushed in to the entrance of the Church to find Kadaj upon his bike, clutching the capsule and weeping bitterly. It didn't take long for Kadaj to sense that someone was in the room with him and in his madness, drove his bike up the wall of the church. As he rested it upon the rafters, he unleashed a flurry of magic attacks at Cloud.

Cloud managed to dodge these attacks with ease but the aftermath of each blast left craters in the floor of the church. The pillars that were holding up the church were starting to break and the building was falling down all around him. It was bad enough that he had to avoid Kadaj; he didn't want to have to stay clear of chunks of falling debris.

As Kadaj continued with his assault, water started to bubble from a hole within the flower garden. Both men heard the sound of running water and turned their heads to see a stream of water flowing across the flower bed and up the walls of the church. When it reached the rafters, it started pouring down like rain upon Cloud. A sense of weightlessness came over him and he looked down at his arm and noticed it was glowing with a pale green light. Slowly the peach color of his skin was starting to take the place of the rotted cells and watched as the Geostigma disappeared into thin air.

Cloud looked back towards a pool of water that had formed in the garden. He could have sworn he saw the images of Zack and Aerith smiling back at him, but he didn't have time to linger in the moment. Another chunk of ceiling fell down in front of him as he watched Kadaj escape to the rooftops.

* * *

A light wind stirred around a body that lay dormant on the ground. Pebbles and sand like particles seemed to tap her to wake and slowly she opened her eyes to find that she was lying a few inches away from a huge gap in the overpass.

Thankful that she managed to survive the blast, she sluggishly pulled herself on to her feet. This brought about a short cry of pain as every bone in her body started to crack and every muscle stretched as if they hadn't been used in years.

She dusted herself off and started to laugh a little. It wasn't as if a little dirt removal was going to better her appearance. She looked like…well….like she had just survived two explosions. That description in itself pretty much explains it all.

Aside from the crunch of rubble underneath her feet, she could hear the faint sound of metal colliding. Working with SOLIDER had trained her hearing enough to where she could pick out what weapons were being used just by their sound. She knew that there was a clash of swords happening somewhere in the distance.

Shazz limped over to the edge of the overpass to study the scenery. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized where Kadaj had brought them. It was back the beginning, Shinra INC. The building was merely a metal skeleton but it still stood as a complete eyesore. She squinted her eyes and she could barely make out two figures that were at each others throats. It didn't take a genius to know who would be fighting. Silently she said a prayer in hopes that she wasn't too late. She swallowed her pain and took off running towards the Shinra ruins.

* * *

Cloud stood on the roof of his former place of employment. His breathing was heavy as he blue eyes burned into Kadaj who was standing there was a wicked grin upon his lips.

"So what's gonna happen now?" Cloud asked.

The boy gazed upon the capsule lovingly "Mother will tell me."

"Oh, so I guess a remnant wouldn't really know."

Kadaj looked up at Cloud with such contempt that one would be inclined to believe that looks could really kill. "So what if I'm just a puppet!! Once upon a time dear brother, you were too!"

Cloud lunged at Kadaj and his blows came upon the lowly avatar with such ferocity and purpose. He could sense what Kadaj was planning to do next and he was determined to end this before it got any further. Kadaj on the other hand was fighting with tortured emotions. There was no doubt that he could have easily held his own against Cloud but his feelings for his mother was clouding his judgment.

The young blonde was hacking away and Kadaj and pushing him closer and closer to the edge of the building. The tiles under the boy's feet gave way he slipped off the roof. Kadaj managed to grip the edge and hung on tightly with only one hand. He looked up and saw that Cloud was standing over him.

"It ends here." Cloud said as he raised his sword above his head.

Kadaj didn't even flinch. Instead a smirk spread across his face "We'll see" He let go of the building and as he fell, he took what was left of Jenova's cells and forced them into his body.

Cloud panicked as he realized what was going on. He jumped off the roof in pursuit of Kadaj and prayed that he would be able to make it time. He raised his sword again and brought it down with all that he had, but it was stopped by what could only be described as an immoveable force. When Cloud opened he eyes, he was well aware that he had come face to face with the cause of all his misery.

* * *

Shazz was approaching ever closer and at one point she could see Cloud and Kadaj fighting only a few feet above her. She desperately looked around for something to climb and soon her eyes fell upon an old rusty ladder on the side of an abandoned building. She raced towards the ladder but was stopped by what she could only describe as a sonic boom. A violent gust of wind blew her way and she raised her arms up to shield herself from the hurling debris.

Has the wind past she opened her eyes. She looked up to find Cloud again, but what she saw paralyzed her with fear. She felt her heart pounding in her head and her breathing was heavy with anxiety. She couldn't tell if she was crying but her body was shaking so badly she felt like she would drop to her knees.

The long gossamer silver hair, the penetrating green eyes, and the cold black leather at one time would have brought a smile to the young woman's face, but now it only filled her heart with malice. Words could not begin to express her desire for his existence to be lost to this world forever and right now she would stop at nothing to make it so.

By sheer will, her feet started to move. She needed to get to higher ground and fast so she grabbed the rails on the ladder and began to climb. As she was making her way up she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She gripped the sides as they began to puller her down and all she could think about was that some how Yazoo or Loz had survived the blast and they were going to kill her.

The pull was strong and she could feel her fingers slipping.

"Dammit Shazz let go!"

Shazz's eyes popped open as she recognized the voice "Tseng?" She let go of the ladder which sent them tumbling to the ground. Tseng let out a grunt as Shazz landed on top of him and if she hadn't knocked the wind out of him, he would have had the sense enough to grab Shazz before she got on to her feet.

"Tseng? How did you…"

"Get here?" He said as he got up from the ground and dusted of his suit. "I had help from some of Cloud's friends. They dropped me off a while ago but I didn't anticipate how fast you'd run so I've only been able to catch up now."

"So what now? Are you here to stop me or help me?" She asked in a harsh tone.

"What do you think? Shazz this is insane! This isn't even your fight!"

"I don't care if it is! I have to do something!"

"No you don't. Shazz, you weren't trained for this kind of situation and no one is going to look down on you if you back out. Going after Sephiroth is suicide at this point."

"So what."

Her words punched him right in the gut. His hands balled in to a fist at his side and his eyes burned with afire of anguish and disbelief. "How can you say that? How can you say that your life doesn't matter?"

Shazz turn away from him. She knew that she had hurt him and it ate away at her to see him so disheartened. "I'm sorry Tseng, but I'd rather die trying to help Cloud, than to live knowing I've done nothing." She walked back over the ladder and started climbing again.

Tseng could hear his breathing become heavy and his heartbeat erratic. He was angry at how easy it was for Shazz to throw her life away and angry at himself for hesitating to stop her. Was it selfish for him to want to save Shazz because he didn't want to be without her? Would be so wrong of him to keep her from helping Cloud because he couldn't bare the pain for losing her? Whatever the reason, he knew he had to stop her. She could hate him all she wanted but it was the only way he could keep her alive.

Once again he reached out to her and pulled her away from the latter. She fought desperately to break out of his hold and was screaming at the top of her lungs for him to let her go. He did no such thing; instead he crushed her tighter to his chest. She tried to push herself away from him but his hold on her wouldn't budge.

"Dammit Shazz!" He begged as he pulled her in even closer "Why can't you see how incredibly stupid this is? Why? Why are you being so persistent?"

"Because I let him go!" She screamed as she collapsed against his chest. He arms lay lifeless at her side as her face became buried in his jacket. "I sent him away. I had him right in my arms and…I just…sent him away."

"Shazz…" his tone was comforting as ran his fingers through her hair.

"God, I'm such a stupid and selfish person."

"No you're not."

"But I am." Her sobs started to soak through the material of his shirt "I…I turn him away because I didn't want to be a crutch. I didn't want him to look to me to fill a void that no one is this world could possibly ever fill. I thought that kind of pressure would tear us apart. I just…just wanted him to find his own reason to move on. I thought for sure that he could handle Kadaj because Kadaj is nothing but some dumb kid. If I had known for a second that Seph…Sephiroth would be back I would have left with him. I would have been what ever or who ever he need me to be."

Tseng sighed as he looked down at the frail girl in his arms. Slowly he released her from his embrace, place a hand under her chin, and gently coaxed her to look up.

"Shazz, look at me" her eyes remained downcast "Hey, look at me ok." Gingerly she met his gaze and her brown eyes glistened with tears. "No one knew what was about to happen so you can't blame yourself for these unseen events. I know for a fact that you aren't the first person in Cloud's life that has tried pushing him to move forward."

Shazz's head turned to look at a dark and ominous sky. She could hear the thunderous clashing of swords in the distance and a sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. "Your logic is going to make up for the fact that he is entering a battle thinking that he is alone. But he's not alone, not anymore, and I can't leave here and let him believe that he is."

Tseng tenderly brushed the tears away from her eyes "Do you honestly believe that Cloud is fighting because it's just something that he has to do. He has a reason to fight and I know that when everything is said and done, he will be expecting you to be waiting." He reached out to her and drew her in to himself. "Trust me when I tell you that just knowing you will be there when he returns, is enough for anyone to fight to survive."

Shazz looked up at him and something in his smoky grey eyes let her know that his feelings for her started way before she ever knew. She let out a sigh of defeat. "Very well Tseng, let's go back. After all, I did promise Cloud I would be waiting."

He took her hand and they started walking amongst the decayed ruins of Shinra INC. Nothing could be heard except for the crunch of shattered glass and rubble as they walked along this broken road. Tseng's eye caught Cloud's abandoned bike leaning up against a rusty brick wall.

"Over there." He shouted as he drug Shazz over to the motorcycle. "I'm sure he won't mind if we borrow this. I'll be sure to return it to him later."

He helped Shazz on to the bike and as soon as she came in contact with the leather seat, it triggered a strange reaction within her. An image of her and Zack in that white room flashed before her. The memory of that moment was running in fast forward and her head was spinning to try and keep up. All of a sudden the reel seemed to stop and she was in Zack's arms. He was leaning and whispering something in her ear.

"Shazz!" The sound of Tseng's voice snapped her out of her trance. "Shazz, are you ok?"

She shook her head and blinked away the haze "Yeah, I'm fine. I….I just forgot about something."

"What?"

She shook her head again "It's nothing, let just head back."

Tseng got on the bike and Shazz wrapped her hands around his waist "Tseng?"

"Yes."

"When the time comes, promise me you'll do me a favor without question or hesitation."

At first this sent up a couple red flags but he could sense the urgency and sincerity in her voice. "Of course Shazz, anything."

"Thank you." She said as she nuzzled in closer to him.

Tseng kick started the bike and revved the engine. He took on look back at the towering Shinra building and said a silent prayer. _"For her sake Cloud, win."_


	13. What You Most Cherish

What a wonderful weekend my darlings! I spent some time with my littler sister and i got to watch her dive into my coffee table. LOL now worries she was ok only a brusie appearded but i guess that's what you get when you try and jump over a couch. Anyway this chapter was brought to you by "Prayer" By Disturbed...please enjoy ^_^

* * *

With swords crossed, Cloud stared into the face of the man who had caused so much destruction. The whole world had gone silent in that moment and to Cloud it seemed that the wind itself had even ceased to exist.

"Hello…Cloud" came the somber tone of Sephiroth as his eyes glared wickedly at his former comrade.

It was as if the earth itself reacted to the sound of Sephiroth's voice for a loathsome wind wrapped around them and the ground seemed to tremble in fear.

Cloud was repelled and was sent flying towards the rooftops of Shinra Inc. He landed on his feet and braced himself for an attack. Sephiroth floated to the building top and touched down with a disturbing angelic grace.

"You're Geostigma is gone. That's too bad." the silver haired demon said with a sinister smile.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as he raised his sword "What the hell do you want?!"

"What I want Cloud" he replied with a bemused tone "is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planed at my vessel, just as my mother did long ago." He raised a gloved hand into the air and the skies took on an apocalyptic appearance. Cloud flinched as a swirling vortex of doom that came hurdling towards the ground. "Then on day we will find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a glorious future."

"But what about this planet?!"

"Well, that all up to you Cloud. Do you really believe that you are capable of stopping this because I have to admit, I've been anticipating the look on Shazz's face when I take her life with a sword that is stained in your blood."

Sephiroth lowered his arm back down to his side. There was a glint in his eyes that revealed the utter pleasure he got out of picturing his former lover's face tortured with hopelessness and despair knowing that he was the one that had taken away the two things that matter most in her life.

Cloud gritted his teeth and charged at his former superior with intense ferocity. Sephiroth laughed as Cloud continued to strike at him with surprising force. It amused him to see this ex Soldier trying so hard even though the whole situation was beyond recall. He thought he would bide his time a little while longer to give Cloud the chance to believe that he could win.

The predictable attacks from Cloud were coming at him relentlessly and he blocked every one of them with little to no effort. He allowed Cloud to push him further and further to the top of the massive tower that symbolized Shinra. As he neared his top the battle had become increasingly boring. He decided that he had enough of this little cat and mouse game and planed to end it all with one fatal swing of this sword. He raised his weapon and came down upon Cloud with immeasurable force, but to his surprise, Cloud managed to block it with his own blade.

"Oh?" Sephiroth sneered "Where did you find this strength?"

"I'm not about to tell you!!"

Sephiroth gave a bewitching smile as Cloud repelled him backwards. He went sailing higher towards the dark skies and he was cutting down every pillar in his path. "I guess this means that I'll have to take you seriously this time aren't I? To commemorate your new found strength I thought of a gift for you?" He continued to taunt Cloud as he dodged the falling rubble. "Shall I give you despair?"

A chunk of metal hit Cloud's shoulder and hit sent him off balance. He quickly jammed his sword into the side of the building and caught himself before he plummeted to a certain death. He pulled himself up on to his sword and knelt down in order to balance himself upon his own blade.

"That's right Cloud, on your knees. I want to see you beg for forgiveness."

Cloud launched himself up the side of the building, cutting through the falling debris as he made his way towards Sephiroth. Once again the two titans engaged in an electrically charged battle. Sparks flew as metal clashed at frightening speeds and for the first time, Sephiroth noticed that Cloud fought on the same level as him.

As the blonde continued to defend himself against the onslaught of Sephiroth's attacks, he faintly heard the sounds of someone shouting from below. There was something familiar about that voice. It was a voice he had heard a million times in his head but still it seemed to be nothing more than a memory. It continued to play through is mind like a bad song when all of a sudden his eyes widened in fear as he realized who the voice belonged to.

"_Shazz?" _His body went rigid _"Why is she here?" _In that brief moment when is thoughts drifted towards his friend, it allowed Sephiroth all the room he needed to gain the upper hand. He leapt forward and slashed Cloud and knocked him off balance once again.

Cloud tried to recover but he just wasn't quick enough. Sephiroth landed a powerful kick and sent the poor boy flying right into a concrete wall. He sat there in a daze on the top of Shinra and his head pulsated with the pain of it ricocheting off the cement. Before he had a chance to collect his bearings, he felt a blade being plunged right into his shoulder, pinning him against the wall.

He quickly stifled a cry that was boiling within him and looked up in to ominous green eyes. His silver hair fluttered in the wicked wind and his lips curled up into a deadly smile. "Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it way from you."

The pain from his wound was excruciating. His body was so tired of fighting and even his will was beginning to falter. A vision was building before him and a white light completely consumed him. It seemed that images of his friends were hiding in little pockets of light. The kind and warm faces of Tifa, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, Red XII, Cait Sith , Marlene, Denzel and Aerith were smiling back at him as each face appeared and disappeared one by one.

Soon these images were replaced by his memories of Zack. Memories of being wrapped up in jersey knit sheets in that small studio apartment in downtown Midgar. These weekends he knew nothing but the warm touch of Zack's flesh, the taste of his lips, and a pleasure that more than earthly bound. Pictures of Zack's goofy grin and social awkward graces began to wash over him. It all seemed that his whole life was being played out before his very eyes and it was coming at him so fast that he began to accept that these precious images were his last right.

Suddenly everything game to an abrupt halt and all that stood before him was image of Shazz. She was standing there in that sweet pink cotton dress and her honey brown eyes were filled with hope and her smile filled with promise.

"_Cloud, I don't know when and I don't know how, but there will be a moment when you realize that what you have right now is worth while and you will stop at nothing to protect it."_

Blues eyes flowed with a renewed sense of purpose and her words brought vitality back into his body. He reached over and wrapped his hands around the blade. With ease he pulled it out of his shoulder and jammed it into the wall behind him.

"I pity you." Cloud said as he took this brief opportunity to jump out of reach. "You just don't get it."

Cloud's precision and speed had shaken Sephiroth. He could do nothing but watch as Cloud moved deftly in circles around him and place a halo of blades that were pointed right at him.

"There is not a thing that I don't cherish!" He voiced with such condition that is struck a nerve within his former superior. With out hesitation, Cloud ran Sephiroth straight through with every single sword that he placed around him. The final blow went right through that cold black heart and Sephiroth could feel his body start to degrade.

Cloud distanced himself and watched as a pitch black wing sprouted from his enemy's back. Emerald eyes bore down on him but Cloud didn't look away. Sephiroth held no power over him anymore.

"Stay where you belong, in my memories."

"I will never be a memory." Sephiroth replied with mocking laughter. His wing soon encompassed him and his body slowly began to dissolve.

The sky began clear away of the black clouds and rays of sunlight began to peek through the ones that still remained. When the vision of Sephiroth completely disappeared, all that lingered was his vessel. Kadaj began to fall towards the ground and Cloud held out his arms to soften the landing. He looked down at Kadaj as he held him and in that moment he appeared to be nothing more than a broken child. He felt sorry for the poor boy because it was obvious that Sephiroth cared for nothing in this world, not even his own shell.

"B…brother?" Kadaj said weakly as he gazed up at the sky "I…I just want to go home."

"_Kadaj" _came a sweet and airy voice _"You don't have to hang on any longer."_

"M…mother?"

"_I've been waiting for you. Are you ready?"_

Cloud watched as tears streamed down the boy's face as they were soon hidden by the gentle rain that began to fall. Kadaj reached up towards the heavens and it looked like he had taken the hand of someone that was pulling him upward.

A pale green light enveloped Kadaj's body as he slowly began to break away. The flickers of florescent green light made up what was left of the body and slowly it was drawn into the Life Stream.

Cloud stood up with a sense of relief as the rain began to wash away all the pain and sorrow that still lingered. But this peace was interrupted as a gunshot rang out. Cloud feel a bullet pass through his shoulder and he fell to his knees. He turned his head to see Yazoo and Loz staggering ever closer to him. The blast from the overpass had completely ravaged their bodies and he could see the same green light that had embraced Kadaj's body was now forming upon them.

Yazoo breathing heavy as he clutched his side "We'll…go…together" he said as he let his gun fall to the ground.

"Together…we'll…play" Loz added as pain stained every word.

The countless materia they had stored in their arms was starting to glow. In one final sweep of Yazoo's hand, he unleashed a massive magical attack that caused an epic explosion for the whole world to see.

* * *

A light and heavenly feeling swept over Cloud once again. He remembered this feeling of weightlessness as he felt the presence of standing close to him.

"Zack?" Cloud whispered without even opening his eyes

"Hey babe" came Zack's cool and soothing voice "We've got to stop meeting like this, it doesn't bode well for your health."

"Zack did I finally…"

"As I've said before, its not your time my friend." Cloud could feel Zack's hands run through his and the tinkling of his laughter fell delicately upon his ear "I hope for you sake that you're not following in Shazz's footsteps because I swear that girl walks in a field of landmines these days."

"No, of course not…wait?!" Cloud suddenly opened his eyes and shut straight up. He turned to look at Zack who stared at him bewildered. "What are you saying? Was she caught in the explosion?!"

Zack quickly covered up his shock with is usual toothy grin "Uhhhh no…no no no. She's fine, don't worry about it. Forget I even said anything. Erase it from your memory." Zack raised his hands in front of Cloud's face and began wiggling his fingers as if trying to hypnotize him.

Cloud chuckled and took Zack's hands into his. He kissed his finger tips and continued to hold on firmly. "Its ok Zack, I'm not who I once was. I realize now that in order to embrace my dreams I need to look towards the future. I spent too much time dwelling in the past that I didn't notice what I had right in front of me. I finally see life as you've always seen it, as a blessing, and I promise not to take what I have for granted ever again."

Zack's smile beamed brighter than the sun. "Like I've said, yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

The dark haired man began to laugh hysterically at his own joke and all Cloud could do was shake his head. He reached out and entwined his fingers in soft black locks.

"Come here" Cloud said with a smile as her pulled him into a kiss. Their lips devoured each others and their arms locked around each other as if in vice grip! There was in unspoken truth that this would be the last time that they would ever get to hold each other like this again.

Cloud soon felt the familiar pull of the planet and it was calling him home. He broke the kiss but the taste of Zack remained upon his lips. "I guess it's time for me to head back."

Zack smiled and gently caressed Cloud's cheek "Yeah, and I don't want to see you back here for a very long time got it."

"I don't plan on it."

"Good" Zack leaned in and placed another kiss on Cloud's supple pink lips "I love you Cloud."

" A promise, of my love, I will live the life that you meant for the both us until that fated day comes when I will get to spend eternity in your arms."

A white light swirled around Cloud and he didn't let got of Zack's hand until the last minute when Zack's angelic face faded back into the light.


	14. Our Home

Oh my goodness loves i'm so sorry to keep you waiting. As you know last weekend was a holdiday and i was unable to get back home to write but i have it all done now! LOL i love Easter...i came home and shouted "HAPPY ZOMBIE JESUS DAY EVERYONE" that did not go over to well...oh well at least i made my sister's laugh. Anywho here is the new chapter dears. This was inspried by "All I Need" by Within temptation.

* * *

"Is she still out there?" Tseng asked Reno as he walked back into the living room of the Lodge.

The red head had just come back from looking out the front door where Shazz had been standing on the balcony since they had arrived. Even when the sky had turned in to the dark abyss, she didn't even budge from her post. She just stood there looking at the sky and to what she was trying to find, no one had a clue.

"Yeah" Reno replied as he plopped down on the couch next to Tseng "What is her deal anyway?"

Tseng sigh and shook his head "Isn't it obvious, she's mad at me."

"Mad? At you? Why?" Reno said has he cocked an eyebrow

"Because I took her way from helping Cloud. It was the one thing he had her mind set on and I talked her out of it."

"Oh yeah, you saved her from being hacked into little pieces, don't beat yourself up too much." Reno patted his superior on the shoulder "And besides, she's not mad, she's just upset. Trust me, I would know."

"It's true, he would." Piped in Rude. Tseng and Reno looked up in surprise to see Rude was sitting in an arm chair across from them. They had no idea how he got there but for a big guy we was way to quiet for his own good.

"Ok…anyways" Reno said has he turned back around to face Tseng "If Shazz was mad she would be yelling at me and when she's not she's upset. It's very simple."

"No offense Reno but she yells at you when she is in a good mood so forgive me if I find your logic a bit obscure."

"My god men are such idiots." All looked to see Elena pushing the president across the hardwood floor. He was still wrapped up in white linen and she had parked him in front of all his men.

"Gentlemen, she is neither angry nor upset" Rufus said with a half smile "She is merely…just waiting."

"For what, Cloud to fall out of the sky? OW!" Elena had walked behind Reno and smacked him upside the head for making such a ridiculous comment. He glared at her as he rubbed his head "Dude, what the hell?"

Elena rolled her eyes as she sat on the arm of the chair next to Rude. She crossed her arms and gave Reno a death glare as if to warn him to think before he opened his big mouth again.

"To be honest Reno" continued the President in a clear and concise tone "I really don't know what she is waiting for, all I know that it must be some sort of sign, a sign that will surely mark the end of her time with us."

"You mean she's leaving?" Reno asked

"It would appear so."

"Huh…that's going to be…kind of weird."

"Why, are you going to miss her?" Asked Rude his a calm deep molasses tone.

"What? No! As if! Its just…well…it's going to be quieter around here that's all." Soft laughter filled the room and it seemed like everyone could sense how different it would be without Shazz's presence. Everyone except Tseng. He sat there with his eyes focused on the floor. His silence made it obvious that he had not even contemplated the idea that Shazz would ever leave. He hoped that Rufus was just making assumptions but something just kept tugging at him.

"I have to give the girl credit though. If I were in this situation, I don't think I would be holding out much hope for Cloud's return." Elena interjected

Tseng's eyes widened as the mention of Cloud's name had triggered something. He remembered that Shazz had asked him a favor and this must have been why. She wanted him to let her go. "No, this has nothing to do with hope. She knows, without a doubt, that Cloud is coming back and she will be going back home with him."

The whole room went silent as sympathetic eyes fell upon him. Tseng felt a hand on his shoulder and he heard Reno say something that he was not expecting. "Hey, look man, just because Shazz is leaving doesn't mean it has to be over. You guys have made it through worse situations."

Tseng laid his hand upon his friend's and nodded his head to let Reno know he truly appreciated what he said. But this moment was short lived as he felt the president's eyes upon him.

"Tseng, may I have word?" The dark haired Turk nodded his head and followed the president over to a corner in the room. "So does this mean that you and Shazz have made it official?'

Tseng's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink and he nervously scratched the back of his head. "I uhh…well…I mean we…well…yeah I guess we are."

"Hmm…you know I expected something was there but I never thought it would progress into something serious. I had hoped…that maybe someday…well never mind. It's all for the best I guess. Take good care for her."

Tseng could help but resent his comment. Rufus had no right to tell him to take care of the girl when he had been doing so for so long now. As far as he was concerned, Rufus had ruined his chances a long time ago and his relationship with Shazz was really none of his business.

Tseng was about to tell the president just that when they heard the front door fly open. A cool wet breeze filled the room the room as Shazz stood in the doorway with a look of anticipation. Her hair was damp as well as her clothes and water droplets trickled down her skin. The smell of rain lingered in the air as the sound of it echoed on the rooftop.

Shazz ran over to Rufus and grabbed the handle bars of the wheelchair and began to push it towards the door. Everyone in the room went on high alert because they had believed that Shazz had finally cracked and was going to push the president off the balcony.

They all rushed towards the door as Shazz pushed him on to the wooden platform.

"Shazz! Stop!" Reno shouted as he leapt out the open door to try and stop her. His efforts were futile because all he ended up with was a face full of plywood. The rest of the Turks gathered outside to see what was going on.

"Shazz, what are you doing?" Tseng questioned.

"Look" Shazz pointed at Rufus where a pale green light began to appear on Rufus's skin. Miniscule beads of light evaporated into the air and left behind renewed peach flesh.

"Sir…your Geostigma…it's gone?!" Elena uttered in complete shock

"Wait, let me see!" Reno picked himself off the floor, went over to Rufus, and took his hand to examine it. "My god, it really is gone."

Heads turned to look at Shazz who had a serene look about her. A slight smile played upon her lips as the rain continued to fall.

"It's over." She said with relief and breathed in deep. That was all that needed to be said for everyone to understand that Cloud had won and the rain was sent to wash away the sins of their past.

As Elena and Rude tended to the president, Tseng made his way over to Shazz's side. Her hand immediately found his and her eyes peered sadly into his. He wasn't quite sure if she was crying because the tears were masked by the rain, but the quiver in her voice betrayed it all.

"Tseng, I…I need you to…"

"I know" he interrupted as he pulled her closer into himself "I'll take you to him."

Shazz smiled as she reached up and ran her fingers through his rain soaked hair. "Thank you." she whispered but even that was barely audible.

Tseng's hands cupped her heart shaped face and he drew her in to a kiss as the rain continued to fall sweetly around them. Everyone pretended not to notice, all except Reno.

"Geez." he said has he crinkled his nose in disgust "Get a room!"

Without taking her lips away from Tseng, Shazz mule kicked Reno in the back of the knee and sent him crashing to the floor again. Elena and Rude chuckled as the watched Reno rub the back of his leg.

"The boy doesn't know when to quit does he?" Elena said with a shake of her head.

"No, but he had to get one last jab in some how. It's going to be some time before he will have anyone to argue with."

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes to the glittering light of stained glass windows. He could feel the cool embrace of water as he heard the voices of children. Suddenly the kind face of a little girl in pigtails came into his view.

"It's like she said, wait here and Cloud will come back."

The blonde quickly righted himself and stood up in the pool of water that was created during his battle in the church. He looked at the group of children that was surrounding him as well as his friends who had all gathered.

"Welcome home Cloud!" Marlene shouted as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

Cloud looked down at his shoulder in disbelief. He was expecting to see a gunshot wound but he found nothing. "I…I'm home." he said to himself as he continued to stare in amazement.

"Cloud" a voice broke his concentration and he looked to see a fiery red cat approach the water's edge "There are still children with Geostigma."

Baby blue eyes fell upon Denzel whose infection had spread across his forehead. Cloud reached out his hand towards the boy. "Come on, I'm here."

Denzel nodded his head and allowed Cloud to pick him up and place him in the water. Cloud cupped his hand underneath the water and brought it up and over the boy's head. He poured the water and watched as it trickled down Denzel's face. That same green light appeared and in an instant, the infection was gone. A bright smile covered the boy's face as he turned to share his joy with Tifa and Marlene. Jubilant chatter filled the church as every child jumped into the water to cure themselves of the horrendous disease.

Cloud revealed a shy smile as he looked at his surroundings and out of the corner of his eye he saw Aerith picking up a humble bouquet of flowers made by the children. As she turned to leave she looked back at Cloud.

__

"You see, I told you everything would be fine."

Cloud gazed wordlessly as he saw Zack waiting for her underneath the doorway. He smiled at Cloud and winked at him flirtatiously. Both of them waived good-bye as they vanished into that bright heavenly light.

As Cloud continued to watch their images fade, another one appeared under the archway. Cloud squinted to try and make out the shadowy figure and he could feel is heart starting to race. He pulled himself out of the water and the whole room fell silent.

"Shazz?" His voice was filled with so much hope that it almost brought tears to his eyes.

The timid girl walked into the church and everyone could see her journey etched upon her. Her clothes were ragged, her hair was a mess, and cuts and bruises covered her body. But Cloud would argue that in this moment, she never looked more beautiful.

For the moment, no one else was in the room. He ran up to her with open arms and picked that girl up and held on tightly. Her laughter sounded like silver bells in his ears as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he finally sat her down, he made sure to keep her hand in his.

"Shazz…how did you know…?"

She smiled as she playfully feathered back his spiky hair. "Well, a little angel by the name of Zack Fair asked me a favor. He told me that when the rain started to fall, I was to come to this church and from there I would be able to go home, so, here I am." Cloud embraced her once again and as she looked behind him, she noticed that hundreds of eyes were staring at her. "Uh Cloud, maybe some introductions are in order."

Cloud turned around to notice that everyone in the room was waiting for an explanation. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck but it was so hard to hide that smile. "Uhhh guys, this is…"

"Shazz." Heads turned to see who had said the name. Shazz watched as a woman started walking towards her and she could feel those brown eyes analyzing her. She wasn't sure if she should be scared or not until a she felt someone take her hand and she was looking into a kind and welcoming face. "It's finally nice to put a name to a face."

Shazz relaxed as he laid another hand on top of hers. "Like wise, Tifa."

"How do you know my name?"

"How could I not. Cloud would talk about you all the time when we worked together." Shazz looked past Tifa and at the rest of the gang. "In fact, I know every one of you." One by one Shazz named all of Cloud's comrades and got every single name correct. Everyone was amazed that a girl they barely knew would recognize them.

"I feel bad Miss," said Red XIII as he walked towards her "You've taken the time to know our names and yet we know nothing of you."

"Well, you have a lot of time on your hands when you're locked away from the world for years. I've heard stories of your travels and to keep myself from going insane, I just took it upon myself to memorize everyone's names." Suddenly Shazz's gaze fell upon two children that had come to Tifa's side. "But I believe I haven't had the pleasure of meeting these sweet faces."

"This is Marlene and over there is Denzel." Cloud said as he pointed to each kid as he introduced them. "They have been leaving with us for sometime now."

"Its so nice to meet you both." Shazz said as she held out her hand in greeting.

The children were reluctant to take it at first. Marlene looked up at Tifa and whispered "Is that the girl you said was Cloud's little push?"

"The very one." she replied with a smile.

Marlene approached Shazz and instead of taking her hand, she wrapped her tiny arms around Shazz's waist and hugged her. "Thanks for believing in Cloud."

Shazz stroked the girl's hair and smiled sweetly "I should be thanking you for taking care of him all these years." She looked over to Denzel who was still standing by Tifa "I guess I should be thanking this handsome young gentleman as well."

Denzel blushed at the compliment and he quickly turned away. "Oh uh yeah…um Marlene we should be getting back to helping the other kids."

"Oh yeah, I hope to see you again Shazz." Marlene shouted as she took off after Denzel.

"I hope so too." Cloud responded as he gave Shazz a look that held one question. Was she planning on staying?

"Well of course you will be able to, that is, if Tifa says…"

"Of course you can stay with us" said Tifa with a friendly smile.

"Well alright!" Came the boisterous voice of Cid as he came and shook Shazz's hand. "Anyone that has put up with Cloud's stubborn ass for this long deserves to be rewarded."

Shazz laughed as he withdrew her hand from the rough and tumble man. "Yeah I suppose you're right. It did have it's challenges. Oh Cloud, what was that nickname you gave me when we first met? Oh yeah, I believe it was bitch."

Eyes darted towards Cloud who was turning three shades of red. "Oh my god Shazz, I can't believe you still remember that."

Shazz's playful laughter floated through the air as she gave Cloud a reassuring pat on the back. "Ok, in his defense, I kind of was a bitch for awhile there. So the question should be how did he put of with me this long?"

"Wooo weee ain't you a pistol!" Bellowed Cid as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I like you. Welcome to our loving and dysfunctional family."

"And I'm honored to be a part of it." Shazz smile at everyone to show that she truly meant what she said.

Soon the church was filled with the voices of children laughing as they splashed around in the pool. There was also whimsical chit chat amongst the adults as the tried to play catch up.

"Hey Tifa!" Yelled Yuffie as she ran up to the raven haired beauty. "Where's the new girl? I haven't had the chance to say hi."

"Ummm, I would think she would be with Cloud? Why, weren't you there when she was introduced?"

"Yeah but I had to leave right afterwards to check to see if my materia was still safe."

Tifa could only shake her head and smile "Of course, well, she should be here."

Their eyes scanned the room for her but she was no where to be found. In fact they couldn't even spot Cloud.

"Yuffie?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been able to find Cloud?"

"Nope, and he's a hard guy to miss with his crazy hair."

"They left" came a bass voice from behind them. The girls turned around to find Barret looking out towards the open archway. "Spiky and the girl left a few minutes ago. Ain't quite sure where they headed."

Tifa's eyes wondered to the doorway as well and faint smile played upon her rose colored lips. "I think I have a pretty good idea where they are going."

* * *

Cloud lifted Shazz off the back of his motorbike and sat her down upon the rocky ground. The dirt and pebbles crunched underneath their feet as they walked towards a rusty sword that stuck out of the earth.

"So this is it? This is where it happened?" Asked Shazz as she approached the sword.

"Yeah." Cloud replied as he stood by her side.

Shazz lovingly caressed the handle of the sword. She reached up towards her shoulder and tore off a ribbon that hung from her tattered sleeve. She then used it to tie a bouquet of yellow and white lilies to the handle.

"Zack, I'm so sorry it had taken me this long to come and pay my respect." Tears began to build in her eyes as she stared at the rusting weapon.

Cloud intertwined his fingers with hers and she looked up to find his blue eyes smiling at her. "No more apologizes and no more tears. It's out time now to embrace our dreams."

Shazz laughed as she brushed away her tears. "Wow, I'd never thought I would hear that from you."

Suddenly the sky began to burst with sunlight and every beam seemed to shine down upon them. It took their eyes a while to adjust but when they opened them, they saw a feather floating to the ground. Cloud reached out his hand to catch it and both of them began to study it. The feather was snowy white and it looked like it was laced with a fine thread of gold. Their eyes drifted back towards the sky where they could make out that faint image of Zack and it looked like a pair of beautiful wings had embraced him.

A warm wind swirled around Shazz and Cloud and they could here it whispering _"I have them now, thank you."_

The light that shone down upon them spread across the vast blue sky and encompassed Midgar in a glowing halo. The two friends stood on the edge of the cliff and looked out over the land. There stood a city that was rebuilding, a city filled with a new hope and limitless promises, and more importantly, it was a city they could now and forever call their home.


	15. Epilouge

we have reached the end my loves!! wow i can't believe it? another story down!!??? oh the madness! Thank you all so much for sticking around for another round! Your some tough cookies and i love you all the more for it! This chapter was inspried by "A Promise Made" by Casey Stratton. Please enjoy!

* * *

Tifa was outside packing the motorbikes when she heard a loud banging noise coming from inside the house. It had been three months since the battle with Sephiroth and things had been pretty peaceful in Midgar, but a hint of paranoia still lingered.

Silently she made her way through the bar of 7th Heaven and followed the noise back into the kitchen. Whatever was going on in there was causing the room to shake. She could hear the silverware rattling in the drawers and the pots and pants that hung from the rafters were starting to clang together. She swallowed hard as she prepared herself to fight whoever it was that was destroying her kitchen.

She jumped through the door and positioned herself in a fight stance. It didn't take long for her tense muscles to relax when she realized it was just Cloud who seemed to taking vengeance upon her counter top. She peered over his shoulder and saw that he was butchering a watermelon.

"Mmmmm yummy," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm "I love a little fruit with my linoleum."

Cloud put down the knife and gave Tifa an icy glare. She knew that the look was supposed to be menacing but she couldn't help but laugh. "Geez, what's your damage?"

He sighed and turned to place the mutilated pieces of watermelon into a container and sealed it with a plastic lid. "Tifa, why don't we just postpone the trip?"

She grimaced "Uhhhhh no. We've been planning this for over a week and besides, everyone else will be waiting for us."

The 7th Heaven bar had been getting some decent business in the last month and they had saved up enough money to take everyone on a vacation to Costa del Sol. Cloud was making some great tips from his deliveries and so wasn't Shazz with witnessing. Tifa was also helping out with the tips she made while bartending and even Denzel chipped him with his savings from bussing tables.

Marlene had since moved in with Barret who had gotten some steady work and moved into a nice little apartment across town.

Cloud sighed as he finished packing a cooler full of ice with the fruit and drinks. "Fine, then maybe you should just leave without me."

"No Cloud, we are going as a family and…" all of a sudden brown eyes lit up as a light bulb went off in her head "oh my god, she told you didn't she?"

Cloud was baffled "H…how did you know?"

"Hello, I'm a girl, of course she would tell me before she told you and by the looks of your reaction I can't say I blame her."

He let out an irritated huff as he picked up the cooler and headed outside. "I don't see how this could be much of a vacation if _he_ is going to be there."

"So what, she's dating Tseng and she wants to see him. What is the big deal?"

The blonde slammed the cooler down on the rack that he had attached to his bike and gave Tifa an ill-humored scowled. "What's the big deal?! What are you saying?! Have you lost your freaking mind?" He knocked on Tifa's head to make sure it wasn't hollow. "Tseng still classifies himself as Turk and last time I checked, they're not exactly friends of ours." He turned back around and began to strap in the luggage.

"Well last time I checked, they helped us win a battle." She said with a roll of her eyes

"It doesn't matter; he's still not good enough for her."

"And why is that, because its not you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, our relationship isn't like that" scoffed Cloud as he went around his and Tifa's bikes to check them to see if they were ready for travel.

Tifa crossed her arms and an annoyed expression took over her face. "Ok Cloud would it ease your mind if she was dating Barret?"

"No, that guy is too rough. He would break her."

"Ok, how about Cid?"

"Uh no, he's just a dirty old man."

"Vincent?"

"Not entirely human."

"Yuffie?"

"No…wait, what? Tifa?" Cloud said has he popped up from checking the tire pressure.

Tifa couldn't help but laugh at her little joke and her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Just checking to see if you were really listening and to prove my point."

Cloud rolled his eyes and went back to his inspection "And what point would that be?"

"That you just can't accept that she is a woman and it's only natural that she has urges that need to…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Cloud said as he got back on his feet and headed towards the door. "I'm well aware of what she is, but why did it have to be him?"

Tifa reached out to Cloud and turned him around so that he would face her. "Come on Cloud, cut the guy some slack. In your absence he has been the one that took care of her. Also, that night when Rufus got his hands on her, if he hadn't interfered, she wouldn't be upstairs packing."

Cloud let out a sigh and a brief moment of sadness flooded his baby blues. He knew that Tifa was right, but that didn't negate the fact that the memory brought back a lot of pain.

"Fine, I'll give him a chance."

* * *

After they had unloaded their luggage at the hotel, Cloud, Tifa, Shazz, and Denzel, made their way to the beach. Upon arriving, they could already see the rest of the gang had set up camp. There were umbrellas, towels, coolers and the smell of meat being grilled was in the air.

"Hey, nice of you guys to finally join us!" Shouted Barret as he continued to man the grill.

"Better late than never" replied Cloud as he set down the cooler next to Barret. Marlene was quick to greet everyone and right away she took a hold of Denzel's hand and drug him down to the shore to build a sand castle.

Shazz looked around her and could believe how huge beautiful the ocean was. It was like the water reflected the picture perfect sky. Costa de Sol was filled with so much color from the top of every building to the tropical flowers that covered the ground. The sand was white and it glittered in the sun's rays. She also spied Cid and Yuffie indulging in a heated game of volleyball and Vincent and Red XIII were relaxing under the shade of the palm trees. She figured that would be the best place for them considering Vincent had such fair skin and fur was way to hot to wear to the beach.

"Well I think its time we joined the party" said Tifa as she pealed away her close to reveal a black two piece bathing suit. Cloud followed suit and stripped down to a pair of trunks that matched the color of his eyes.

Suddenly Cloud's cheeks flushed a bashful shade of pink as he as he noticed Shazz. She was wearing a cute little bikini that was a bright fuchsia. He suit fit nicely on her tight little body and her bottoms hugged her hips exquisitely.

"Dear lord Shazz, couldn't you wear something a bit more appropriate?"

She gave Cloud a curious look and he knew he was about to get it. "Oh I'm sorry Cloud, next time I'll bring a parka! And why are you on my case anyway? If anything you should be worried about Tifa. She has a lot more to cover than I do." Shazz made a gesture with her hands that curved around her chest to indicate the Tifa's bust size far exceeded her own.

Cloud couldn't help but shake his head. He had gotten used to Shazz's sharp tongue and he even managed to win a couple arguments. He prepared himself for a comeback when he noticed that she was no longer paying attention to him. His eyes followed the direction of her gaze and he spotted three men approaching the beach.

Anger began to bubble inside him and he felt Shazz gently touch his arm. He looked down at her warm chestnut eyes and she smiled. "It will be ok Cloud, you can do this."

He swallowed back his rage and forced a smile "Yeah….sure."

She gave him a reassuring wink and she turned to go greet Tseng, but she didn't make it very far.

"Uhhh Cloud?" She said as she looked down to find he still had a hold of her arm.

"Oh…uh…right." He let her go and she gave him a half smile before she ran off towards Tseng

As she got closer she couldn't help by admire how incredibly handsome Tseng was. His long black hair was flowed freely in the breeze and his grey eyes shone silver in the sun. He was wearing a pair of black swim trunks that showed off his sculpted body quite nicely. Shazz threw her arms around his neck and crushed her lips against his. Tseng could help but blush as Shazz pressed her semi-naked body against his for this was the first time they had this much skin on skin contact. Tseng feared that he would break his promise to Zack to take things slow if he didn't stop this now.

He gently broke the kiss and Shazz couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"Oh sorry, I guess I missed you a little more than I thought."

Tseng's eyes became soft when he looked at her. He reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Missed me? Sweetheart I saw you last week?"

"Yeah but this time I get hold you without having to sneak around."

"Hey, how about your old pal Reno? Did you miss me?" His voice was like nails on a chalk board at this moment. Shazz looked over to see him grinning idiotically and he was wearing neon orange trunks.

"Wow Reno, your swimsuit is just about as obnoxious as you are."

Reno looked down at what he was wearing and shrugged his shoulders. "So, I think I look amazing."

"Well I have to admit that this is an improvement. I thought you would show up in a speedo or something?"

"Sugar, there is no way I would wear one of those. I've got nothing to overcompensate for." Reno smiled and gave her a suggestive wink.

Shazz laughed nervously "Wow…how incredibly gross. Anyway, Rude, you sure look nice."

Nice was in understatement. Even in a pair of trunks Rude still managed to look sophisticated. His chocolate brown skin glistened in the sun and his dark shades gave him and extra edge.

"Thank you Shazz, it is nice to see you again."

"You too Rude!" Shazz smiled as she felt Tseng's hand grasp hers. She could feel his uneasiness through his palm.

"Well love, shall we start heading towards my impending doom?"

The young woman gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, I told them to be on their best behavior."

* * *

Back at the beach the men had gathered to have a little chat about the newly arrived guests.

"So Spiky, it looks like a Turk stole your woman." As he watched Tseng and Shazz approach while holding hands.

"Ok first of all, she is not my woman, and second, yes, she and Tseng are together.

"Hmm" was all that Barret said in response.

"What do you mean by that? How can you not be upset?"

"Ain't none of my business Spiky."

"You shouldn't worry so much kid," said Cid as he patted Cloud on the back "That girl's a firecracker, she can handle herself. Besides, if he hurts her, we'll kill him." Cloud nodded his head. It seemed like a pretty reasonable solution. "So just let loose, after all, it is a vacation."

"Hey everyone!" Shouted Reno as he came up to the guys. "Anyone up for a little competition?"

" What did you have in mind hot britches?" Laughed Cid as he got a good look at the color of Reno's swimsuit.

"How about you and girl wonder over there," he said has he pointed at Yuffie "go against me and my partner in a game of volleyball?"

"I'm in, care to make it interesting?"

"Alright old man, what do ya got?"

"Loser buys a round for the whole gang?"

"Done."

Cid than motioned for Tifa to come over "Hey Tifa, care to ref the game?"

"Sure." She replied as she followed Cid and Yuffie to the sand courts.

"Hey!" Reno shouted "That's not fair! She's on your side!" The red head turned, grabbed Shazz, and yanked her away from Tseng. "Come on Sassy, you're going to ref for me."

"But Reno I…"It was too late to argue for Reno had already drug her half way down to the courts.

Cloud looked around and noticed that everyone was gone, well all except Tseng and Barret. He cleared his throat and gave Barret a little nudge with his elbow. The bulky man gave Cloud a _"what the hell"_ expression but it soon softened when he notice Tseng standing a few yards away. Barret gave his friend a wink to let him know he got the message.

"You know Cloud, I think I'm going to go and help Marlene and Denzel build that sand castle."

The blonde nodded his head in gratitude as he watched Barret walk off, then is attention went right on Tseng. He walked up and stood right next to the Turk and Tseng could feel his gaze burning into him.

"So Tseng, mind telling me how this happened? Did you just decide to take her away when she was most vulnerable, lock her away, and pray that Stockholm syndrome would set in?"

Tseng closed his eyes and let out a half hearted sigh. "I was wondering when you were going to corner me."

Cloud rolled his eyes impatiently "Just answer the question."

"It wasn't like that."

"Really?" The blonde sneered "and how does the minion of the man she hated end up holding her heart?"

The two men were still standing side by side by neither of them were making eye contact. Tseng looked out towards the volleyball courts when he heard the sound of Shazz's laughter and this made him want to do something he wasn't really good at. He was going to…open up.

"Look Cloud, it wasn't like I was gunning after her. In fact, I only got to know her through Zack."

Now this grabbed Cloud's attention. He looked at Tseng and he noticed the warmness in his eyes as he looked at Shazz.

"You expect me to believe that Zack introduced you to Shazz?"

"Not formally. He asked me to watch out for her when he had to go on missions. Out of respect for him I was happy to oblige, but somewhere down the line I stopped doing it for Zack and found myself wanting to protect her."

Tseng turned his head and grey eyes locked on to blue.

"Cloud, I would watch as Rufus took everything away from her. Day after day he broke that poor girl down to the point where the pieces of her heart could fit through the eye of a needle, but yet she would come back to work with a renewed sense of hope and I knew it was due to you and Zack. Her devotion to your friendship was unfathomable. She tolerated all that Rufus could throw at her if that meant she could be able to help you guys out in anyway that she could. I couldn't help but think to myself that it would be so amazing to have someone willing to endure so much just be able to stand by their side. I would have given anything to have felt one ounce of the love that she has for you two."

Cloud's eyes became downcast as they began to dart back forth as if they were searching the sand for something to say. "Tseng…I…a part of me wants to believe you but an even bigger part can but feel that you are lying. I mean, you were so close. Why couldn't you prevent it from happening?"

Tseng gasped as if the words had just knocked the wind out of him. He knew what Cloud was referring to and he had no excuse for not being there sooner.

"I know you don't trust me and quite frankly, I haven't give you much reason to. I certainly haven't given Shazz any reason to return my feelings and I held out no hope that she ever would. But for some miraculous reason she has allowed me the chance to hold on to her heart and I can promise you that I will spend everyday trying prove that I am someone that she deserves."

Cloud let out a cautious sigh and shook his head "I just don't know Tseng, it all seems too weird."

"You want to know what's really weird. I want to be with her more than anything in the world but yet I still have to hold back. I know my place. You and Zack will always be her first priority. Someday that may change but for now I'm content in taking the back seat." A sly smile crept upon his lips because what he was about to say next may have some pretty steep consequences. "Besides, the view is still very nice from back here."

Cloud gave a low chuckled and shook his head "You've got a lot of balls to say that to me."

"Apologizes," Tseng replied with soft laughter " perhaps I did cross a line, but Cloud, I can assure you that my intentions are not to step on anyone's toes. Like it or not, she is the only thing that we have in common. I don't expect us to be friends, but if we can just agree that all we really want is for her to be happy, I'm sure the rest will fall into place."

The blonde gave him a sideways look. He wasn't sure if he could trust Tseng bur for Shazz's sake, he was going to let his skepticism slide. He extended his hand his hand to the Turk.

"Deal, but just remember, you break her heart and I'll break your face."

"Deal," Tseng said as he took Cloud's hand "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Night descended upon Costa del Sol, but it didn't seem as if it was that late at all. A blanket of glittering stars covered the velvet sky as the lights of the city added to its luminescence. All had returned to a nearby Cabana where they sat under and umbrella and dined on the local cuisine. Laughter could be heard from miles away as friends chatted about today's events.

All was present and accounted for, all except Shazz. Cloud strolled along the beach until he spotted her sitting in the sand just inches away from the tide that was coming in. She sat there with her knees drawn close to her chest her hair seemed to shine in the moonlight.

"This is new. I never thought I would see you alone and brooding?"

Shazz looked up at Cloud and gave him a half smile. "I'm not brooding, I just didn't want to leave the ocean just yet. The sky seems so much bigger here."

Cloud took a seat next to her and gazed at the stars with her. "So I take it you felt his presence too?"

"All day, but I felt it much stronger when you joined the volleyball gave of _the people vs. the Turks._"

"I suppose he wanted to see them lose just as much as I did?"

"No, it wasn't that. It was because this was the first time you just let go and lived in the moment. I mean you were actually laughing…loudly. I'm sure that was a site that Zack couldn't pass up." She laid her head upon his shoulder and he gave her an awkward glance.

"You are so weird, but I can't help but feel that you could be right."

"Oh but Cloud, I'm always…"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know, you're always right."

Cloud wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to himself. They shared a laugh as they continued to look up at the night sky. There eye's widened as the saw a couple shooting starts weave in and out of the darkness.

"You see," Shazz said with a confident voice "I think Zack agrees with me too."

"Alright fine," Cloud said as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted off his pants "you win, now come on." He held out his hand and helped Shazz to her feet. "I believe that part of the agreement was that Reno owes you a drink."

"And so he does." Said Shazz and she and Cloud started to walk back towards the Cabana hand in hand. "Hey Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to thank you for not killing Tseng today. I'm glad that you were willing to give him a chance."

"Yes well, I believe him when he says that he loves you so if he is what makes you happy then I guess I'll just have to deal with it."

Shazz wrapped her arms around Cloud's and she pressed her cheek against his bare skin. "Good, because when we get back I'm going to do all the couple stuff like kissing, holding hands, you know, things like that."

He tensed a little but he took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "Well, that's fine. Your relationship isn't any of my business."

"Really?' She looked up at him questionably "So you wouldn't be mad if I went back to his room tonight?"

She felt arm snake a an arm around her waist and pulled her in tightly. "Don't push your luck Shazzberry. I won't hesitate to go Zack Fair Crazy on you."

She let out a giggle as she reached up and ruffled his spiky hair. "Alright there Blondie, I just wanted to see what my limits were, and besides, I kind of told Zack I would take it slow anyways."

"That's my girl."

The two heard their names being called from the Cabana and they took off in a run to join the rest of the gang. Shazz couldn't express how grateful she was to see that spark back in Cloud's eyes. He was really doing it. He was living out the dream that Zack had always envisioned.

Oh yes, the presence of Zack was so strong that Shazz couldn't help but almost feel him in the room. She down next to Tseng, slipped her fingers in between his, and gave him an alluring smile. Everything seemed to be falling into place, well, all except just one tiny thing. She leaned towards Tseng and gave him a kiss with just a innocent hint of tongue. She knew Zack wouldn't be happy, but then again, when did she ever really listen to him in the first place. She licked her lips and a longing burned in her eyes that made Tseng shift in his seat. There was no need to break with tradition right?

* * *

So that's the end of this story ^_^...anywho i'm kind of stuck as to what i'm going to write next...I have three other stories in mind so i guess you can hardly call that writers block. the one i am focused on now is an FMA fanfic that i'm going to do something a little different and steer away from my normal love of yaoi and do something a little bit more dark and mysterious. But i have two more boy love stories in mind...i just don't know which one to post "think think think"


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